THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


s 


UUr 


BISHOP  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 


History  of  the  William  Taylor 

Self-Supporting  Missions 

in   South  America 


By 
GOODSIL  F.  ARMS 


it 


Board  of  Mission*  t  Church  Extension 
of  the  r.tfhec^t  Church, 

LIBRARY 

150    FH  /L.VUE,    MVV  YORK 

THE  METHODIST  BOOK  CONCERN 

NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI 


Copyright,  1921,  by 
GOODSIL  F.  ARMS 


Printed  in  the  United  States  ot  America 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  FACB 

FOREWORD 7 

PREFACE 9 

I.    THE  MACEDONIAN  CALL 1 1 

II.    THE    BEGINNINGS    OF    WILLIAM    TAYLOR'S 

WORK 21 

III.  ESTABLISHING  MISSION  STATIONS 33 

IV.  MOVING  FORWARD 47 

V.    EVENTS  OF  1881-1883 70 

VI.    THE  TRANSIT  AND  BUILDING  FUND  SOCIETY 

REPLACES  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 92 

Vll.    THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  MISSION  FROM 

FOUR  CENTERS 118 

VIII.    EVANGELISTIC  WORK  IN  SPANISH 140 

IX.    THE  PRINTING  PRESS 171 

X.    PROPERTIES 174 

XL    ECCLESIASTICAL  JURISDICTION 188 

XII.    RESULTS — TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS    OF    SELF- 
SUPPORT  209 

XIII.  THE  TRANSFER 213 

XIV.  SELF-SUPPORT — THE  PLAN 225 

XV.    FOUR  QUADRENNIUMS  OF  PROGRESS  UNDER 

THE  BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 237 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

WILLIAM  TAYLOR Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

CATHEDRAL  AND  PLAZA,  LIMA,  PERU 18 

MR.  THOMAS  S.  UREN 30 

REV.  WILLIAM  STANDEN 30 

MRS.  ADELAIDE  W.  LAFETRA 40 

REV.  IRA  H.  LAFETRA 40 

REV.  GOODSIL  F.  ARMS 52 

MRS.  IDA  TAGGARD  ARMS 64 

SANTIAGO  COLLEGE 76 

WESLEYAN  ACADEMY 87 

COQUIMBO  CHURCH  AND  PARSONAGE 87 

MR.  ANDERSON  FOWLER 95 

VIEW  OF  ONE  OF  THE  Patios  OF  CONCEPCION  COLLEGE  106 
FRONT  VIEW  OF  THE  FIRST  BUILDING  ERECTED  FOR 

CONCEPCION  COLLEGE 106 

THE  VEGETABLE  MAN 121 

DOROTHY  M.  RICHARD 134 

MRS.  J.  L.  REEDER 134 

INDIAN  POTTERY 147 

MRS.  LELIA  WATERHOUSP;  WILSON 147 

REV.  JOSfj  TORREGROSA  AND  HlS  TWO  SONS 165 

Two  METHODISTS  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS 177 

ARAUCANIAN  INDIAN  WOMEN  SPINNING  AND  WEAV- 
ING   177 

METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  CONCEPCION 193 

SENOR  GALLISTE 223 

MR.  J.  L.  REEDER 223 

GRADUATES,  CLASS  OF  1914,  CONCEPCION  COLLEGE..  244 


FOREWORD 

WILLIAM  TAYLOR  has  never  received  the  full  measure 
of  recognition  that  was  his  due.  That  wonder-working 
man,  whose  evangelistic  tours  left  literally  trails  of  fire 
in  Australia,  in  South  Africa,  and  in  India,  undertook 
also  to  carry  the  gospel  to  South  America. 

Leaving  New  York  with  but  little  money  and  no 
knowledge  of  the  Spanish  language,  he  achieved  the 
amazing  record  of  traversing  the  Isthmus  of  Panama, 
and  then,  sailing  down  the  west  coast,  he  left  behind  him 
a  series  of  schools  wholly  self-supporting. 

These  schools,  through  varied  experiences,  have  since 
come  to  be  the  centers  of  evangelistic  influences  and  are 
to-day  the  strategic  points  of  Methodist  work  all  along 
the  west  coast  of  South  America. 

Among  those  whom  William  Taylor  sent  in  those  early 
days  was  G.  F.  Arms,  who,  after  many  years  of  conspic- 
uous service,  now  writes  with  loving  appreciation  the 
story  of  this  unusually  stirring  episode  of  a  missionary 
endeavor  of  Methodism.  W.  F.  OLDHAM. 


PREFACE 

THE  Rev.  Ira  H.  LaFetra,  D.D.,  purposed  to  write 
a  history  of  the  William  Taylor  Self-Supporting  Mis- 
sions on  the  west  coast  of  South  America.  Arriving  with 
the  first  party  sent  out  and  being  superintendent  of  the 
mission  for  more  than  twenty  years,  he  knew  the  workers 
and  all  the  work  well.  He  had  preserved  the  correspon- 
dence with  the  different  missionaries  during  all  those  first 
years,  and  also  articles  which  were  published  in  the  mis- 
sion field  and  in  the  States,  together  with  the  Annual 
Reports  and  other  documents  published  by  the  Transit 
and  Building  Fund  Society. 

When  Secretary  S.  Earl  Taylor  made  a  visit  of  inspec- 
tion of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  missions  in  South  Amer- 
ica, after  talking  with  me  about  the  origin  of  different 
mission  stations,  owing  to  my  long  connection  with  the 
mission,  he  asked  him  to  write  a  history  of  it.  Several 
others  at  different  times  had  asked  the  same. 

On  account  of  ill  health  Dr.  LaFetra  was  not  able  to 
write  the  history  as  he  had  purposed,  and  passed  all  his 
accumulated  material  over  to  me. 

This  history  has  been  written  little  by  little  at  odd  times 
and  in  the  midst  of  the  pressing  duties  of  a  missionary's 
life.  The  reader  is  assured  that  the  record  contained  in 
the  pages  of  this  book  is  historically  correct.  It  differs 
somewhat  from  the  history  of  other  missions  in  that  it  is 
the  record  of  the  planting  and  growth  of  a  self-support- 
ing mission.  G.  F.  A. 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  MACEDONIAN  CALL 

THE  CALL  TO  SOUTH  AMERICA 

A  MAN  stood  at  night  and  cried,  "Come  over  into  Mac- 
edonia and  help  us."  That  was  the  voice  of  Europe's 
unsaved  millions,  and  oncoming  millions,  in  darkness  and 
great  need  calling  for  the  light  that  leads  to  salvation. 
The  vision  of  Macedonia  was  the  call  of  Paul  to  Europe. 

The  vision  of  South  America's  great  need  was  the 
call  of  the  Master  to  William  Taylor.  Mr.  Taylor  had 
recently  returned  from  those  marvelous  missionary  cam- 
paigns in  Australia  and  India.  Many  souls  had  been 
saved.  Indifferent  and  sleepy  church  members  had  been 
awakened.  Committees  had  been  formed.  Associations 
had  been  organized  which  had  provided  places  of  wor- 
ship and  support  for  ministers,  and  well-organized 
churches  had  been  established. 

With  the  strong  impression  upon  him  of  what  God  had 
wrought,  he  had  a  vision  of  South  America,  a  vision  of 
its  great  need ;  the  vision  of  a  continent — our  sister  con- 
tinent— lying  in  darkness,  neglected,  separated  from  all 
other  lands  by  great  oceans,  but  joined  to  North  America 
by  the  Divine  Hand  that  placed  the  oceans  and  formed 
the  lands. 

And  this  neglected  continent  is  joined  to  our  land  by 
similar  conditions  of  birth  and  development  of  national 
life.  Both  Americas  were  occupied  by  Indian  races. 
Both  were  discovered  and  colonized  by  people  from 
Europe.  Both  secured  their  independence  from  Euro- 

II 


12     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

pean  monarchies  and  organized  themselves  into  repub- 
lics. Their  commercial  and  industrial  conditions  in  many 
respects  have  been  similar. 

But  the  republic  to  the  north  with  the  open  Bible,  with 
the  pure  light  of  God's  Word,  free  to  examine  and  free 
in  conscience,  has  grown  strong  and  has  stepped  to  the 
forefront  of  the  most  advanced  Christian  civilization, 
while  the  republics  to  the  south,  with  a  closed  Bible,  and 
without  equal  opportunities  of  education  and  freedom 
of  thought,  have  made  little  progress.  They  have  been 
like  plants  overshadowed,  shut  away  from  the  sunlight. 

THE  CONTINENT  AS  TAYLOR  SAW  IT 

The  vision  showed  to  Taylor  a  sister  continent  vast  in 
territorial  extent  and  transcendently  rich  in  natural  re- 
sources; a  continent  populated  by  about  forty  millions 
of  people,  for  whom  less  missionary  work  was  being  done 
than  for  any  other  of  the  peoples  of  the  earth.  This 
neglect  has  been  justified  by  many  on  the  ground  that 
the  people  of  South  America  have  the  Roman  Catholic 
religion,  and  therefore  there  is  not  the  same  need  for 
missionary  work  for  them.  Whether  the  reason  given  is 
well  founded  may  be  better  determined  by  studying  the 
condition  of  the  people  divided  into  the  different  classes 
into  which  they  naturally  separate. 

The  Rev.  George  P.  Howard,  superintendent  of  the 
Buenos  Ayres  Central  District,  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  has  resided  nearly  all  his  life  in  South  America. 
He  says :  "There  is  a  common  belief  in  the  United  States 
that  South  America  is  both  a  Latin  and  a  Roman  Cath- 
olic continent.  The  continent  as  a  whole  is  not  Latin, 
neither  is  it  Roman  Catholic.  We  have  in  South  America 
a  population  of  forty  millions.  Of  these,  according  to 
the  two  best  authorities,  twenty-one  millions  are  pure 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  13 

Indians  and  semicivilized  natives.  These  are  unreached 
by  priest  or  Protestant  missionary.  Seven  millions  of 
'Indies  bravos'  are  still  in  their  savage  state.  The  re- 
maining nineteen  millions  are  composed  of  those  indiffer- 
ent to  religion  and  baptized  Roman  Catholics.  The  pro- 
portion of  so-called  Catholics,  even  in  the  civilized  edges 
of  South  America,  is  less  than  the  proportion  of  edu- 
cated unbelievers,  who  boast  that  they  have  no  use  for 
Christianity,  having  thrown  off  all  allegiance  to  this  faith 
when  they  abandoned  Rome." 

There  is  one  other  class  not  mentioned  by  Mr.  Howard. 
It  is  that  of  foreign  emigrants  from  Protestant  countries. 
This  class  is  comparatively  small  in  numbers,  but  very 
important  because  it  has  the  commercial  and  industrial 
interests  of  South  America  so  largely  in  its  hands.  It  is 
confined  chiefly  to  the  cities,  especially  the  seaports,  and 
to  the  mining  districts. 

The  question  arises,  Was  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
meeting  the  religious  needs  of  these  different  classes? 
What  was  that  church  doing?  What  was  being  done  by 
Protestants?  The  seven  millions  of  savage  Indians  are 
divided  into  many  tribes  and  languages,  and,  in  general, 
they  are  far  separated  from  each  other.  For  these  noth- 
ing was  being  done  except  by  some  very  small  missions, 
like  that  among  the  Tierra  del  Fuegians,  a  tribe  limited 
to  a  few  thousands  and  separated  from  all  others  by  dis- 
tance, tribal  relationship,  and  language ;  so  separated  that 
missionary  work  done  among  them  would  in  no  way  aid 
in  evangelizing  the  other  Indian  races. 

Besides  these  uncivilized  Indians  there  are  fourteen 
millions  more  whom  Mr.  Howard  classes  as  "pure  Indians 
and  semicivilized  natives."  He  adds,  "These  are  un- 
reached by  priest  or  Protestant  missionary."  Had  Wil- 
liam Taylor  been  able  to  visit  every  part  of  South  Amer- 


14 

ica,  he  would  not  have  found  in  the  whole  field  one  single 
missionary  belonging  to  any  one  of  the  great  missionary 
societies  of  Europe  or  America  working  to  evangelize 
these  savage  or  semicivilized  Indians.  The  little  that  was 
being  done  was  by  small  societies  formed  of  persons  who 
had  become  especially  interested  in  some  particular  tribe 
or  community,  separated  from  the  great  mass,  leaving 
the  twenty-one  millions  virtually  untouched.  It  seemed 
as  if  the  Missionary  Societies  had  made  an  addendum  to 
Christ's  great  command,  making  it  to  read,  "Go  ye  into 
all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature, 
except  to  the  peoples  of  South  America."  There  re- 
main, according  to  Mr.  Howard's  classification,  nine- 
teen millions  who  form  the  civilized  class,  nominally  con- 
sidered as  Roman  Catholics,  some  of  them  well  educated, 
many  unable  to  read  or  write.  Mr.  Howard  stated  that 
the  larger  portion  of  the  educated  classes,  considered  as 
Roman  Catholics,  boast  that  they  have  no  use  for  Chris- 
tianity, and  do  not  care  to  be  called  Catholics.  This  large 
number  comprises  the  majority  of  the  thinking,  the  intel- 
ligent, the  influential  people  who  are  molding  the  char- 
acter of  the  South  America  republics.  To  save  South 
America  this  class  ought  soon  to  be  given  the  gospel  of 
salvation. 

What  about  the  devoted  Roman  Catholics?  Are  they 
all  right,  or  do  they  also  need  the  gospel  of  Christ?  Many 
a  Protestant  will  doubtless  answer  that  Roman  Cathol- 
icism is  a  Christian  faith ;  and  though  it  may  not  be  the 
highest  type  of  faith,  it  possibly  may  be  that  which  is 
best  adapted  to  the  Latin  peoples  and  the  Latin  races. 
Some  have  been  ready  to  go  further  and  say,  "The  Cath- 
olic Church  has  had  possession  of  South  America  and 
the  Protestant  churches  should  not  enter  there,  but  give 
their  energies  to  the  evangelization  of  the  heathen  na- 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  15 

tions."    Are  these  views  correct?    What  is  the  answer 
to  them? 

CATHOLICISM'S  UNPARALLELED  OPPORTUNITY 

In  Latin  America  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  has  had 
an  unhindered  opportunity.  Everywhere  it  had  a  free 
hand,  and  in  much  of  the  territory  exclusive  control.  For 
the  Christianizing  of  those  lands  Romanism  had  a  vast 
army  of  priests,  monks,  and  nuns  to  devote  to  the  work, 
and  also  vast  wealth  for  its  support.  Further,  nearly  all 
the  government  officials  were  of  her  appointment  and 
under  her  control,  usually  her  obedient  and  ready  serv- 
ants. The  public  funds  were  at  her  command,  and  were 
used  freely  to  build  her  temples,  her  schools,  her  hospi- 
tals, her  orphanages,  and  to  support  her  agents.  Tithes 
were  imposed,  and  when  not  paid  willingly,  by  her  com- 
mand were  forcibly  collected  by  officers  of  the  govern- 
ment. To  accomplish  her  ends  she  had  great  resources  in 
money  and  power,  power  without  measure — civil  power 
over  life  and  property,  and  she  claimed  absolute  ecclesi- 
astical power  over  the  soul  even  to  the  exclusion  from 
heaven.  The  nations  were  hers,  the  people  were  in  her 
hands.  With  this  great  unparalleled  opportunity  exclu- 
sively hers  what  has  Roman  Catholicism  done  for  the 
evangelization  of  South  America? 

Evidences  of  almost  interminable  length  from  every 
country  of  South  America  could  be  recited  showing  the 
inadequacy  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  both  as  an 
evangelizing  force  among  the  native  Indians  and  as  a 
spiritual  teacher  and  guide  for  the  residents  and  the 
Spanish-speaking  people  who  adhere,  nominally  at  least, 
to  that  faith.  But  we  must  confine  ourselves  to  a 
general  summary  of  the  situation  which  has  been  amply 
substantiated. 


16     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

Perhaps  the  most  serious  part  of  the  indictment  against 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  has  not 
given  to  South  America  the  gospel;  it  has  not  been  a 
teaching  or  a  preaching  church.  At  least  it  has  not  in  any 
vital  way  taught  or  preached  the  gospel. 

Millions  of  South  Americans  have  almost  no  means  of 
finding  their  way  to  Christ.  They  do  not  have  the  Word 
of  God.  The  two  great  Bible  Societies  have  strained 
every  resource  to  put  the  Scriptures  into  the  hands  of  all 
the  people  of  the  continent,  but  "still  there  is  room." 
Priests  have  forbidden  their  purchase  or  acceptance. 
Millions  cannot  read.  In  millions  of  homes  there  is  not  a 
leaf  of  the  Bible,  nor  even  the  most  elementary  knowledge 
of  what  the  Bible  really  is. 

"The  Roman  Church  is  not  a  preaching  church,"  is  the 
way  Bishop  H.  C.  Stuntz  sums  up  the  situation.  "Except 
in  the  larger  cities  of  the  coasts,  where  foreign  influence 
is  strongly  at  work,  there  are  not  a  score  of  sermons  a 
year  preached  in  the  language  of  the  people  in  any  of 
their  churches.  There  are  no  prayers  in  the  language 
which  the  common  people  understand.  It  is  a  church 
which  lives  on  ritualistic  services,  and  teaches  its  people 
that  these  forms  and  sacraments  of  themselves  have 
power  to  both  give  and  sustain  spiritual  life." 

Romanism  has  a  violent  record  of  religious  intolerance 
and  persecution,  and  the  remnants  of  intolerance  of  reli- 
gion remain  to-day. 

The  Spanish  nation,  which  had  established  the  terrible 
Inquisition,  has  so  far  stamped  its  image  upon  the  hearts 
of  the  men  who  framed  the  nine  new  republics  of  South 
America  into  which  the  Spanish  possessions  fell  after 
"The  Ten  Years'  War,"  that  they  wrote  intolerance  in 
religion  into  every  one  of  the  new  constitutions. 

To   secure   religious   liberty   has   taken    a    long,   long 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  17 

fight — which  makes  one  of  the  most  moving  and  thrilling 
stories  that  can  be  found  in  the  history  of  missions.  Peru 
was  the  last  stronghold  of  religious  intolerance  to  fall. 
"But  it  is  sometimes  a  far  cry  from  law  to  enforcement," 
as  Bishop  Homer  C.  Stuntz  says  in  South  American 
Neighbors:  "It  must  be  said  that  religious  liberty  in 
South  American  states  does  not  mean  religious  equality 
before  the  law.  When  the  law  has  been  put  on  the  stat- 
ute book  it  is  yet  to  be  enforced.  Where  civil  adminis- 
trators are  friendly  to  that  law,  enforcement  is  easy  and 
becomes  the  normal  thing  to  expect.  But  in  bigoted  cen- 
ters and  in  the  benighted  interior  of  many  a  republic 
evangelical  workers  must  fight  for  all  the  rights  they 
enjoy." 

Two  other  results  of  the  dominance  which  Romanism 
has  had  in  South  America  are :  First,  the  almost  complete 
failure  to  bring  any  Christian  teaching  or  evangelization 
to  the  native  Indians  and  half-breeds.  Such  "Christian- 
ization"  as  they  have  received  is  largely  a  compound  of 
superstition  and  ritual  and  has  no  moral  force  in  their 
lives. 

The  other  fact  is  the  trend  of  the  great  mass  of  the 
population  away  from  the  traditional  Christian  faith. 
Almost  all  the  intellectuals  are  not  only  opposed  to 
church,  but  are  agnostics  in  religion. 

It  is  conservatively  estimated  in  Argentina  for  instance, 
and  the  proportion  would  hold  for  other  countries,  that 
ninety  per  cent  of  the  men  have  no  connection  with  the 
church.  An  Argentina  leader  recently  divided  his  fellow 
countrymen  into  three  classes:  those  who  have  no  reli- 
gious convictions  but  support  the  church ;  those  who  have 
no  religious  convictions  and  oppose  the  church ;  and  those 
who  have  no  religious  convictions  and  are  opposed  to 
all  churches. 


18     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

Materialism  and  indifference,  and  in  a  large  number 
of  cases  agnosticism,  are  almost  unchallenged  in  their 
progressive  sway  of  men's  thinking  and  action. 

This  undermining  of  belief  is  the  most  striking  com- 
mentary possible  on  the  spiritual  faith  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  and  is  a  condition  filled  with  the  grav- 
est moral  peril  for  the  future  of  the  great  continent. 

It  is  the  frank  facing  of  such  conditions  as  these  that 
made  Robert  E.  Speer  say,  "I  honestly  believe  that  there 
is  no  more  desperately  needy  mission  field  in  the  world 
than  South  America." 

There  remains  for  consideration  the  small  but  impor- 
tant Protestant  element.  Many  of  these  Protestants  were 
foreigners,  reared  in  Christian  homes,  trained  from  early 
childhood  in  the  Christian  Church.  Now  they  are  in  a 
far  land,  and  there  to  get  gain.  They  are  separated  from 
home  and  friends  and  the  blessed  influences  which  sur- 
rounded them.  Usually  they  are  without  the  moral 
atmosphere  and  the  restraining  social  influences  which 
stand  for  a  clean  life.  They  are  placed  where  there  are 
special  temptations,  where  it  is  easy  to  sin. 

What  was  being  done  to  save  the  many  bright,  fine 
young  men  who  have  gone  out  from  Christian  homes  to 
live  in  the  midst  of  unbelief  and  vice?  These  young  men 
had  a  claim  upon  the  Christian  Church  even  as  the  child 
upon  its  parents.  The  parent  in  duty  is  bound  to  protect 
the  child ;  so  is  the  church  obligated  to  protect  its  own. 
Was  the  church  fulfilling  its  duty  ? 

Fortunately  for  this  class,  something  was  being  done 
when  Taylor  visited  the  field.  In  the  chief  ports  and 
mining  centers,  where  fair-sized  English-speaking  col- 
onies existed,  services  in  English  in  general  were  being 
held.  In  some  cities,  like  Valparaiso,  true  evangelical 
ministers  were  working  faithfully.  In  that  city  the 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  19 

Union,  the  Anglican,  and  the  German  Lutheran  Churches 
were  well  organized  and  trying  to  meet  the  needs  of  the 
Protestant  members  of  the  community.  But,  sad  to  state, 
in  some  cases  the  leadership  was  not  strong. 

SUMMARY  OF  CONDITIONS 

The  conditions  in  South  America  which  faced  William 
Taylor  may  be  summarized  as  follows : 

1.  For  the  twenty-one  millions,  more  or  less,  of  unciv- 
ilized and  semicivilized  Indian  races  nothing  was  being 
done  except  the  little  by  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and 
that  little  was  not  Christianizing  them.    Their  condition 
was  even  worse  in  some  respects  than  when  Columbus 
discovered  America. 

2.  Of  the  more  than  twenty  millions  classed  as  civi- 
lized and  nominally  Catholic  the  majority  had  lost  faith 
in  the  church  and  professed  themselves  to  be  without 
any  religion.    And  at  the  same  time  few  of  those  who 
remained  loyal  to  the  church  knew  anything  of  salvation 
through  Jesus  Christ.    The  religion  which  they  professed 
was  too  largely  divorced   from  morals  and  was  more 
pagan  than  Christian. 

These  two  classes  were  in  great  need  of  the  world's 
Redeemer. 

3.  The  Protestant  foreigners  also  needed — and  greatly 
needed — the  help  of  the  Christian  Church. 

South  America  was  a  neglected  field,  sadly  neglected. 
The  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Church  had 
been  able  to  do  little  in  South  America.  The  only  work 
of  our  Church  on  the  continent,  although  it  had  been 
maintained  for  forty-two  years,  was  in  the  Argentine 
Republic.  In  these  circumstances  would  not  the  Mac- 
edonian cry,  "Come  over  and  help  us,"  ring  out  clear 


20     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

and  strong  from  the  more  than  forty  millions  of  souls — 
our  neighbors  to  the  south — in  direst  need,  with  almost 
no  light  anywhere  to  show  the  way,  and  almost  no  voice 
to  proclaim  redemption  through  a  crucified  Saviour?  It 
could  not  be  otherwise.  And  William  Taylor  heard  it. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  21 


CHAPTER  II 

THE    BEGINNINGS    OF    WILLIAM    TAYLOR'S 
WORK 

WILLIAM  TAYLOR  had  no  funds.  He  had  no  mission- 
ary society  to  furnish  money,  nor  to  secure  and  send  out 
men  for  the  work.  Any  missionary  work  undertaken 
must  be  done  among  one  of  the  three  classes  given  in 
the  summary  at  the  close  of  the  previous  chapter.  Obvi- 
ously, the  most  fruitful  opportunity  for  beginning  work 
was  among  the  Protestant  foreigners. 

Among  these  Protestant  foreigners  were  some  who 
desired  Christian  services  and  were  willing  to  aid  in 
meeting  the  expenses  incurred  in  sustaining  them.  They 
had  been  reared  in  Christian  homes,  trained  from  early 
childhood  in  the  Christian  Church,  and  many  of  them 
had  been  converted  and  had  consecrated  themselves  to 
God  before  the  sacred  altar.  In  another  land,  far  from 
the  sacred  associations  of  the  old  home,  they  felt  the 
need  of  the  church.  They  would  aid  in  its  support.  To 
search  out  such  and  organize  missions  among  them  was 
Taylor's  opportunity. 

WILLIAM   TAYLOR  VISITS   SOUTH   AMERICA 

October  16,  1877,  William  Taylor  set  sail  from  New 
York  on  the  Acapulco  for  the  west  coast  of  South  Amer- 
ica by  way  of  Panama.  He  went  to  study  the  field  and 
see  what  might  be  done  in  organizing  a  self-supporting 
missionary  work  along  lines  he  had  followed  with  sue- 


22     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

cess  in  southern  India.  It  was  not  his  purpose  to  him- 
self engage  in  missionary  work  there,  but  to  secure  the 
cooperation  of  the  Protestant  residents,  chiefly  British 
and  American,  in  support  of  churches  which  were  to  be 
developed  by  preachers  whom  he  was  to  secure  and 
send  out. 

COLON  AND  PANAMA 

The  ship  arrived  at  Colon  a  few  hours  before  the 
train  was  to  leave  for  Panama.  Taylor  spent  most  of  the 
time  going  about  in  the  town,  where  he  met  many  Ne- 
groes, mostly  Jamaicans,  and  the  majority  of  them  Wes- 
leyans.  They  had  been  accustomed  to  churchgoing,  and 
missed  it  greatly.  They  pleaded  with  Taylor  to  send 
them  a  minister,  and  said  that  they  could  easily  support 
him.  It  was  much  the  same  at  Panama.  He  was  hurry- 
ing on  to  Peru,  and  could  do  no  more  than  to  promise 
the  Negroes  that  he  would  try  to  send  them  a  man  on  his 
return  to  the  States. 

That  afternoon  Taylor  sailed  from  Panama  for  Callao 
on  the  steamship  Bolivia,  of  the  Pacific  Steam  Naviga- 
tion Company,  arriving  November  3. 

CALLAO 

At  this  place  the  repair  shops  of  the  Pacific  Steam 
Navigation  Company  were  situated.  They  employed  about 
four  hundred  men,  of  which  number  about  one  hundred 
were  English  and  Scotch.  These,  together  with  other 
Britishers,  engaged  in  business  and  other  pursuits,  made 
up  quite  a  colony. 

About  seventeen  years  before  Taylor  arrived  at  Callao, 
William  Wheelwright,  an  American,  and  a  noble  disciple 
of  Christ,  the  founder  of  the  Pacific  Steam  Navigation 
Company,  passing  through  Callao  to  New  York,  heard 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  23 

the  Rev.  J.  A.  Swaney,  an  agent  of  the  American  Sea- 
man's Friend  Society,  preach  in  an  inferior  "hired  house," 
and  proposed  that  if  Mr.  Swaney  would  furnish  him  a 
plan  and  specifications  of  a  church  edifice  suitable  for 
Callao,  he  would,  on  his  own  account,  have  it  framed  in 
New  York  and  sent  out.  Mr.  Swaney  supplied  the  plans, 
and,  as  promised,  the  church  was  duly  delivered  at 
Callao.  The  friends  in  Callao  bought  a  lot  and  gave 
funds  to  make  the  church  larger  still.  The  property  was 
deeded  to  the  British  and  American  consuls,  and  the 
manager  of  the  Pacific  Steam  Navigation  Company,  in 
trust  for  the  foreign  population  of  Callao.  The  manage- 
ment was  intrusted  to  six  gentlemen,  elected  annually  by 
the  majority  of  the  subscribers  and  pewholders. 

Unfortunately,  Mr.  Swaney  not  long  after  returned  to 
the  States.  Several  Church-of -England  clergymen  served 
as  pastors  during  the  succeeding  fifteen  years.  The 
church  had  been  without  a  pastor  for  six  weeks  when 
William  Taylor  arrived.  The  last  committee  elected  was 
composed  of  non-conformists  and  gladly  received  Mr. 
Taylor.  He  himself  served  there  for  two  months.  On 
his  departure  a  man  who  had  traveled  as  companion  of 
Taylor  from  New  York  remained  as  pastor  pro  tern,  by 
election  of  the  committee.  The  Pope's  Nuncio  had  ar- 
rived a  little  before,  and  had  given  orders  (which  were 
published  by  the  press)  to  close  the  Protestant  church. 
The  people  of  the  church  paid  no  attention  to  the  order, 
nor  did  the  government  authorities.  Hence  the  church 
services  continued. 

From  Callao  Mr.  Taylor  proceeded  in  Mollendo,  from 
which  port  a  railroad  extends  to  Bolivia,  passing  through 
the  important  city  of  Arequipa.  The  workshops  of  this 
great  railway  line  are  situated  at  Mollendo,  hence  many 
English-speaking  people  were  there — mechanics  and  men 


24     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

of  other  occupations.  Arriving  at  Mollendo,  Mr.  Taylor 
was  very  kindly  received  by  the  British  consul.  He  says : 
"I  had  my  headquarters  with  him  at  the  house  of  my 
friend,  Mr.  S.,  agent  of  the  Pacific  Steam  Navigation 
Company.  In  company  with  Mr.  Barnes,  superintendent 
of  the  motive-power  both  in  the  shops  and  on  the  rail- 
road, I  visited  most  of  the  people  on  Saturday  night,  and 
preached  to  a  small  but  very  attentive  congregation 
on  Sabbath."  On  Monday  morning,  aided  by  Mr.  B.,  he 
made  up  the  following  subscription  for  the  passage  and 
guarantee  of  support  for  a  man  from  the  United  States : 

Believing  a  school  teacher  and  a  gospel  minister  to  be  greatly 
needed  in  Mollendo,  I  propose  to  send  hither  a  competent 
man,  combining  in  himself  the  twofold  character  of  teacher 
and  preacher,  the  first  engagement  to  cover  a  period  of  three 
years.  I  respectfully  ask  the  friends  of  this  movement  to  con- 
tribute funds  for  passage  and  guarantee  for  support  till  the 
school  shall  become  self-supporting.  It  will  require  $330  paper 
currency  for  passage,  and  at  least  $150  a  month  for  sustentation. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

Mollendo,  June  7,  1877.  WM.  TAYLOR. 

We,  the  undersigned,  concur  in  Mr.  Taylor's  proposal,  and 
agree  to  pay  the  sums  we  here  subscribe,  for  the  purposes  named 
and  do  all  else  we  can  to  make  the  undertaking  a  success. 

The  first  man  upon  whom  he  called  was  an  American 
railroad  contractor.  He  said,  "I  am  a  Roman  Catholic, 
and  don't  wish  to  put  down  my  name,  but  I  will  give 
fifty  soles,  and  thirty  soles  per  month  for  his  support." 
A  Scotchman,  an  extensive  contractor,  offered  to  guaran- 
tee $150  per  month.  Others  readily  subscribed,  and 
more  than  the  amount  necessary  was  pledged. 

To  close  the  arrangement  Mr.  Taylor  wrote  a  thankful 
acceptance  of  their  liberality  at  the  foot  of  their  subscrip- 
tions, and  named  three  men  as  a  committee  and  school 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  25 

board  to  collect  the  funds  and  make  all  necessary  arrange- 
ments to  put  the  plans  into  effect. 

William  Taylor's  next  port  of  call  was  at  Arica,  a 
town  then  of  about  three  thousand  inhabitants,  the  port 
for  the  city  of  Tacna  and  the  interior  valley,  and  also 
serving  for  considerable  traffic  by  mule  transport  from 
Bolivia.  The  port  had  suffered  much  from  a  most  fear- 
ful earthquake  and  tidal  wave,  and  Mr.  Taylor  found  no 
opportunity  to  open  work  there.  He  went  from  there  to 
Tacna,  a  flourishing  city  of  fourteen  thousand  inhabi- 
tants, forty  miles  inland.  There  he  found  several  suc- 
cessful business  men  who  readily  signed  passage  money 
and  $200  per  month  for  a  man  and  wife,  both  good 
teachers.  He  had  passed  the  night  before  sleepless  and 
in  prayer,  because  he  found  only  discouragement  to  his 
propositions  to  open  religious  services,  although  those 
with  whom  he  had  talked  did  want  a  school.  He  speaks 
of  that  night  as  "one  of  waking  visions,  when  God  made 
known  his  way,"  and  continues:  "The  revealings  of  that 
night  widened  the  field  of  operations,  narrowed  my 
work,  and  shortened  my  stay  for  the  present  in  South 
America.  My  way  was  widened  so  as  to  send  good 
school-teachers  where  preachers  would  not  be  received 
at  all ;  my  work  narrowed,  so  that  instead  of  staying  to 
plant  churches,  as  I  did  in  India,  I  was  first  to  send  men 
to  lay  the  foundations ;  then,  after  a  term  of  years,  return 
to  build;  time  shortened  by  extending  my  preparatory 
work  rapidly  along  the  coast,  and  hasten  home  to  find 
and  send  the  workers."  Under  this,  which  he  felt  to  be 
the  divine  leading,  he  went  to  some  of  the  principal  men 
in  the  morning  asking  them  to  pledge  passage  and  sup- 
port for  one  teacher.  They  in  reply  asked  for  two,  and 
readily  subscribed  more  than  double  what  he  had  asked 
for  one. 


26     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

This  object  successfully  accomplished,  he  returned  to 
Arica  and  sailed  for  Iquique.  He  found  there  an  Eng- 
lish-speaking colony  of  considerable  importance,  and 
made  arrangements  with  them  (on  the  same  plan  as  he 
had  followed  in  other  places)  to  send  to  them  a  young 
man  who  would  be  a  good  teacher  and  at  the  same  time 
could  serve  as  their  minister. 

From  there  he  went  to  Pabellon  de  Pica  and  to  Huanil- 
los,  because  in  these  places  there  were  a  large  number  of 
ships  loading  guano.  There  were  many  sailors  among 
whom  to  work,  as  the  ships  had  to  remain  there  consid- 
erable time  to  load.  He  states  that  at  these  two  places 
and  at  the  Island  Lobos  there  were  one  hundred  and  five 
vessels  loading.  At  each  place  he  visited,  the  captains 
and  crews  readily  subscribed  sufficient  to  well  support  a 
chaplain.  Formal  articles  of  agreement  between  Taylor 
and  the  ship's  captains  were  signed  before  the  British 
consul  guaranteeing  support  and  passage  for  the  men 
Mr.  Taylor  was  to  send  out. 

From  Huanillos,  the  last  port  of  Peru,  he  sailed  in  a 
steamer  of  the  Pacific  Steam  Navigation  Company,  and 
touched  at  four  ports  of  Bolivia.  He  says:  "Tocopilla, 
great  copper  mines  and  works.  One  hundred  and  twenty 
Cornishmen  are  at  work  there,  and  there  is  no  man  to 
care  for  their  souls.  A  few  of  them  hold  a  meeting 
every  Sabbath  in  a  private  house.  I  saw  a  few  leading 
men,  and  proposed  to  send  them  a  preacher,  but  could 
not  stay  to  enlist  sufficient  interest  to  secure  success." 

Nothing  at  Cobija  and  Mejillones,  the  two  next  ports. 

Antofagasta  was  the  chief  port  of  Bolivia,  being  a 
town  of  about  ten  thousand  inhabitants.  Its  chief  ex- 
ports were  nitrate  of  soda,  silver,  and  copper.  These 
industries,  and  the  railroad  of  about  one  hundred  miles 
extending  into  the  interior,  had  drawn  a  colony  of  Eng- 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  27 

lish-speaking  people.  Some  of  these  men  filled  very 
important  positions  and  drew  large  salaries.  They  re- 
ceived with  rejoicing  Mr.  Taylor's  proposition  to  send 
them  a  teacher  and  subscribed  $495  for  the  outgoing 
instead  of  the  $200  asked,  and  $145  a  month  instead  of 
the  $100  asked. 

William  Taylor's  next  visit  was  to  Chafiaral,  the  first 
port  then  in  Chile.  The  smelting  works  and  the  rich 
copper  mines  not  far  in  the  interior  gave  life  to  the  port. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Langbridge  and  his  wife  had  arrived  a 
month  before  from  England,  to  teach  and  preach,  and  his 
work  had  opened  with  good  promise. 

So  there  was  no  occasion  for  Taylor  to  attempt  any 
work  there. 

Taylor  proceeded  to  the  next  port,  Caldera,  which  he 
describes  as  "a  town  of  about  twelve  hundred  inhabi- 
tants, of  whom  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven  are  English, 
twenty-seven  North  Americans,  and  seventy-six  Ger- 
mans." It  is  the  port  of  entry  for  a  rich  silver  and  cop- 
per mining  district,  and  of  a  small  but  fertile  valley. 
Copiapo  is  the  only  town  of  importance.  At  Caldera  he 
found  only  a  small  number  interested,  and  made  no  defi- 
nite arrangements,  but  he  received  a  letter  from  Mr. 
John  Rosser  and  Richard  Tomkin  inviting  him  to  spend 
a  Sunday  at  Copiapo,  to  which  place  a  good  number  of 
people  from  Great  Britain,  mostly  Welsh,  had  been  drawn 
to  work  in  mining,  railroading,  and  in  business. 

Ten  years  before  William  Taylor's  coming  a  young 
local  preacher  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church, 
Thomas  S.  Uren,  arrived  at  Copiapo.  He  had  secured  a 
church  letter  from  his  superintendent,  the  Rev.  John 
Lythe,  D.D.  On  the  voyage  of  one  hundred  and  six  days 
he  preached  every  Sunday  except  a  few  when  stormy 
weather  did  not  permit.  Seven  persons  were  converted. 


28     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

He  did  not  expect  to  preach  at  Copiapo,  because  liberty 
of  worship  did  not  then  exist.  But  a  few  months  after 
his  arrival  a  committee  of  business  men  asked  him  to 
preach  to  them  and  their  families.  The  services  were 
held  in  an  inside  room  in  the  residence  of  Mr.  James 
Orchard.  The  services  began  August  10,  1868,  and  this 
was  the  first  resident  preaching  service  ever  held  in 
Copiapo.  Twelve  were  present  at  that  service.  Mr. 
Uren  reported:  "Mr.  Wm.  Jenkins  and  Mr.  Kerr  were 
of  great  assistance  to  me.  A  weekly  singing  school  was 
opened,  as  singing  Methodist  hymns  was  almost  a  lost 
art.  The  congregation  increased  regularly,  because  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  was  present  in  every  service,  and  con- 
versions were  frequent.  The  first  convert  was  Richard 
Tomkin,  who  became  an  earnest  worker  in  the  church 
and  Sabbath  school  until  his  coronation."  That  was  the 
Richard  Tomkin  who,  with  Mr.  Rosser,  invited  Mr.  Tay- 
lor to  Copiapo. 

According  to  the  custom  at  that  time,  hours  of  labor 
were  long.  Mr.  Uren  worked  at  the  forge  sixteen  hours 
daily.  He  had  a  Bible  class  Sunday  morning  and  preached 
in  the  evening.  His  health  failed  and  he  went  away. 
Three  faithful  laymen,  Tomkin,  Mitchel,  and  Rosser, 
continued  the  work  for  some  time,  till  a  young  man  from 
Wales,  John  Reece,  arrived.  But  his  health  also  failed. 
Mr.  Uren  then  felt  drawn  to  return  to  Copiapo,  and 
arrived  the  very  day  that  Mr.  Reece  passed  triumph- 
antly to  the  better  land.  He  again  took  charge  of  the 
services  and  soon  after  organized  a  church.  A  conven- 
ient place  of  worship  was  fitted  up  and  a  good  Sunday 
school  was  organized.  The  Roman  Catholics  tried  to 
stop  the  work  but  could  not.  Mr.  Uren's  health  again 
failed  and  again  he  went  away.  A  Rev.  Mr.  Sayre  served 
for  a  time,  but  he  had  also  gone,  so  the  people  were  anx- 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  29 

ious  for  Mr.  Taylor  to  go  to  them.  The  mining  business 
was  very  dull,  and  half  the  people  had  gone,  but  those 
that  remained  desired  a  preacher  and  readily  subscribed. 

The  next  place  visited  was  Coquimbo,  a  port  from 
which  a  railroad  extends  to  important  copper  mines  in 
the  interior.  English  capital  was  invested  in  these  indus- 
tries, and  the  managers  and  leading  operatives  were 
Britons.  Among  them  were  some  earnest  Christians,  and 
William  Taylor  readily  organized  a  committee  which  was 
to  provide  a  place  of  worship  and  support  for  a  preacher. 

He  then  visited  Valparaiso  and  Concepcion. 

At  Valparaiso  he  found  already  organized  three 
churches  with  faithful  pastors:  the  Anglican;  the  Union, 
which  embraced  Presbyterians,  Methodists,  and  mem- 
bers of  other  dissenting  churches;  and  the  (German) 
Lutheran.  These  churches  were  working  well  to  meet 
the  spiritual  needs  of  the  Protestants  of  the  community. 
But  in  the  Bay  of  Valparaiso  there  were  always  many 
ships,  especially  sailing  vessels.  Some  of  them  remained 
for  days,  even  months.  There  was  urgent  need  of  work 
among  the  sailors.  Here,  again,  was  an  open  door  of 
opportunity. 

Dr.  David  Trumbull,  a  stalwart  of  the  famous  family 
of  Trumbulls,  of  Connecticut,  was  pastor  of  the  Union 
Church.  He  wielded  a  tremendous  influence  among  the 
merchants  of  Valparaiso  and  the  whole  English-speaking 
colony,  and  even  among  many  of  the  leading  men  of  the 
Chilean  nation.  He  gave  his  hearty  support  to  Taylor's 
project  to  start  Bethel  work  among  the  seamen.  The 
aid  of  leading  merchants  was  secured,  a  committee  was 
formed,  and  full  arrangements  were  made  for  the  sup- 
port of  a  seaman's  chaplain. 

Arriving  at  Concepcion,  Mr.  Taylor  went  with  a  let- 
ter of  introduction  to  Mr.  William  Lawrence,  a  wine  mer- 


30     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

chant  and  a  man  of  large  influence.  He  found  there  also 
Mr.  Henry  Bunster,  whose  wife  was  from  Baltimore, 
and  Captain  W.  S.  Wilson,  who  took  the  first  sailing 
vessel  up  to  Sacramento  City,  California.  He  was  a 
nephew  of  Captain  Wesley  Wilson,  on  whose  ship  Wil- 
liam Taylor  and  family  went  to  California.  He  also  met 
Mr.  John  Slater,  an  American,  a  big  railroad  contractor. 
He  was  presented  to  the  intendente  (governor  of  the 
province),  who  received  with  enthusiasm  his  plan  to 
establish  a  school,  and  subscribed  liberally  in  its  aid.  It 
being  mid-summer  and  harvest  time,  many  prominent 
men  were  absent  from  the  city,  but  $800  was  subscribed, 
giving  assurance  that  money  would  be  readily  secured  to 
bring  out  three  teachers  to  establish  a  good  school.  Mr. 
William  Lawrence  was  made  chairman  of  the  committee 
which  was  appointed. 

Concepcion  is  a  very  important  city,  being  the  center 
of  a  large  and  fertile  agricultural  district  and  also  the 
center  of  the  coal  mining  in  Chile. 

Mr.  Taylor  also  visited  Talcahuano,  the  seaport,  about 
nine  miles  from  Concepcion.  There  Mr.  Van  Ingen,  the 
American  consul,  gave  him  cordial  aid,  and  $400  was 
subscribed  for  a  teacher. 

William  Taylor  next  visited  Santiago.  The  Ameri- 
can minister,  the  Hon.  Thomas  A.  Osborn,  received  him 
cordially.  The  next  day  the  minister  presented  him  to 
the  president,  Anibal  Pinto,  and  also  to  the  minister  of 
justice  and  public  instruction,  Senor  Amunategui.  These 
men  were  both  liberals  of  a  fine  type.  Senor  Amunate- 
gui did  much  to  advance  education  in  Chile.  Mr.  Taylor 
presented  to  the  president  a  letter  from  President  Hayes, 
recommending  William  Taylor  and  his  plans  for  work 
in  South  America.  The  president  and  his  minister  of 
education  expressed  themselves  as  well  pleased  with  the 


w 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  31 

steps  already  taken  in  establishing  the  schools,  and  prom- 
ised any  aid  they  might  be  able  to  render.  The  minister 
of  education  asked  about  his  starting  a  school  for  girls 
in  Santiago.  Not  till  two  years  afterward,  however, 
were  steps  taken  to  establish  a  school  there,  and  that  wa.s 
by  Ira  H.  LaFetra.1 

MR.  TAYLOR  RETURNS  TO  NEW  YORK  FOR  MISSIONARIES 

On  March  20,  1878,  William  Taylor  embarked  at  Val- 
paraiso for  the  States,  that  he  might  secure  the  persons 
to  enter  upon  the  work  for  which  he  had  arranged.  He 
arrived  at  New  York  on  the  third  day  of  May,  six 
months  and  six  days  from  the  date  of  departure  to  South 
America. 

On  this  trip  William  Taylor  had  arranged  to  send  a 
preacher  to  each  of  the  following  places:  Colon  and 
Panama,  Callao,  and  Coquimbo,  for  Bethel  work  among 
the  sailors  at  Valparaiso,  and  also  among  the  sailors 
loading  guano  at  Huanillos  and  Pabellon  de  Pica.  These 
were  the  only  places  which  were  ready  to  promise  sup- 
port for  a  preacher. 

He  had  arranged  to  send  teachers  for  schools  at  Mol- 
lendo,  Antofagasta,  and  Copiapo,  the  teacher  to  serve 
also  as  preacher,  to  send  a  single  man  as  teacher  and 
preacher  to  Iquique,  and  to  send  teachers  to  Tacna,  Con- 
cepcion,  and  Talcahuano. 

He  undertook  to  send  a  preacher  to  no  place  where 
there  was  one  already,  except  to  Valparaiso,  and  there 
he  was  to  labor  among  the  sailors,  a  work  which  no  one 
was  doing.  In  general,  he  found  few  people  who  cared 
for  religious  services  and  who  were  willing  to  aid  in 

1  It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  history  to  tell  of  the  efforts  of  William 
Taylor  to  start  schools  and  evangelistic  work  in  Central  America  and 
Brazil,  a  brief  account  of  which  is  found  in  his  book,  Our  South  Ameri- 
can Cousins. 


32     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

their  support,  but  he  did  find  many  who  wanted  schools. 
At  that  time  no  country  on  the  west  coast  of  South 
America  had  a  good  school  system.  There  were  few 
public  schools,  and  they  were  of  a  very  inferior  grade. 
All  of  them  together  could  provide  for  only  a  small  part 
of  the  children.  Most  of  the  schools  were  those  of  the 
monks  and  nuns,  in  which  the  education  given  was  very 
limited.  The  teaching  of  the  catechism  and  attendance 
upon  religious  services  occupied  much  time. 

A  STRONG  DESIRE  FOR  BETTER  SCHOOLS 

At  great  expense  many  of  the  British  residents  sent 
their  children  to  Europe  to  be  educated.  This  caused 
the  children  to  be  separated  for  years  from  their  par- 
ents, which  was  a  hard  thing  to  bear.  Some  Germans 
and  French  were  in  the  same  situation.  And  not  a  few 
liberal  Chileans  were  so  desirous  of  giving  a  good  edu- 
cation to  their  children  that  they  were  ready  to  place 
them  under  the  instruction  of  foreigners,  even  though 
the  teaching  would  be  chiefly  in  English.  Thus  many 
who  did  not  care  for  a  church  were  ready  to  pay  liberally 
for  a  school. 

Good  teachers  were  needed,  for  if  they  failed  to  sat- 
isfy the  patrons,  the  pupils  would  be  withdrawn,  the 
funds  would  cease,  and  the  school  could  not  live.  More- 
over, the  teachers  must  be  good  Christians,  who  would 
be  able  to  represent  Jesus  Christ  in  their  lives  and  to 
teach  the  holy  principles  which  he  taught,  else  every- 
thing done  would  be  of  little  avail. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  33 

CHAPTER  III 
ESTABLISHING   MISSION   STATIONS 

THE  FIRST  PARTY  SENT 

Within  two  months  after  his  arrival  in  New  York 
William  Taylor  had  secured  his  first  party  of  mission- 
aries, consisting  of  nine  preachers  and  teachers,  as  fol- 
lows: the  Rev.  Ira  Haynes  LaFetra,  the  Rev.  W.  A. 
Wright,  and  the  Rev.  A.  P.  Stowell,  each  of  Boston 
School  of  Theology;  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Collier,  B.A.,  and 
the  Rev.  J.  W.  Higgins,  B.A. ;  Mrs.  A.  P.  Stowell,  Miss 
Lelia  H.  Waterhouse,  Miss  Sarah  Longley,  and  Miss 
Cora  B.  Benson. 

To  show  how  God's  hand  worked  through  William 
Taylor  in  the  selection  of  the  persons  whom  he  sent  out, 
and  also  to  show  some  of  the  difficulties  and  hardships 
which  they  faced,  quotations  from  documents  in  the 
possession  of  the  writer  are  given.  The  first  is  a  personal 
reminiscence  taken  from  a  report  made  by  the  Rev.  Ira 
H.  LaFetra  as  mission  treasurer  and  superintendent  of 
Santiago  District,  to  the  officers  of  the  Transit  and 
Building  Fund  Society  of  New  York,  in  charge  of  the 
William  Taylor  Self-Supporting  Missions  in  South 
America.  It  reads: 

It  was  in  June,  1878,  after  Mr.  Taylor  had  made  his  first  visit 
to  this  coast,  during  which  he  effected  arrangements  for  opening 
mission  stations  at  various  points  in  Peru,  Bolivia,  and  Chile, 
that  he  came  to  Boston  to  find  among  the  students  of  the 
University  young  men  who  would  venture  forth  into  this 
untried  field. 

Although   I  had  been  closely   associated   in   student   life  with 


34     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

young  men  like  Dr.  Drees,  Dr.  Graver,  Dr.  Siberts,  Dr.  Barker, 
Dr.  Stackpole,  and  others  who  were  contemplating  work  in  the 
foreign  field,  I  had  never  felt  any  call  to  enter  such  work.  It 
was  in  the  parlor  of  a  friend's  house  that  I  first  met  Mr.  Tay- 
lor. After  a  brief  conversation  he  said  to  me,  "I  want  you  to 
go  to  open  the  work  at  Valparaiso."  His  words  came  to  me  as 
a  call  from  the  Lord.  I  bowed  my  head  on  the  chair  before  me 
in  a  moment  of  prayer  to  make  sure  I  was  not  mistaken,  and 
said  to  him :  "I  should  like  to  see  my  parents  before  I  go,"  for 
they  had  been  on  the  Pacific  slope  for  more  than  three  years. 
But  the  time  was  too  short,  and  when  I  did  get  to  that  home 
six  years  later,  it  was  only  to  visit  my  father's  grave  and  look 
upon  my  mother's  sweet  face  as  she  lay  among  the  roses  and 
lilies  in  the  white-fringed  casket,  with  the  smile  of  heaven  and 
the  peace  of  God's  own  love  in  every  lineament. 

When  President  Warren,  who  had  exerted  over  my  life  a 
greater  influence  than  any  other  teacher  I  had  ever  had,  gave 
me  a  note  to  Governor  Claflin,  who  was  then  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  at  Washington,  that  I  might  obtain  letters  of 
introduction  from  President  Hayes  to  the  United  States  minis- 
ter and  consuls  in  Chile,  he  said,  "Mr.  LaFetra  goes  out  to  Chile 
to  establish  Methodism  in  that  republic."  I  accepted  his  words 
as  a  commission  from  God  himself,  and  through  all  these  years 
whatever  may  have  been  the  discouragements  and  the  difficul- 
ties, I  have  never  for  one  moment  forgotten  that  commission. 

The  following  testimony  is  taken  from  a  letter  written 
by  Miss  Lelia  Waterhouse: 

In  1878  a  letter  suddenly  dropped  into  my  life  which  changed 
its  whole  current.  Up  to  the  moment  of  its  reception  I  had 
never  hoped  nor  intended  to  be  any  kind  of  a  missionary.  The 
letter  was  from  William  Taylor.  He  stated  that  he  was  opening 
up  a  line  of  churches  and  colleges  in  the  Spanish-speaking  coun- 
tries of  South  America,  on  the  self-supporting  plan.  The  people 
in  those  countries  were  to  furnish  transportation  for  the  preach- 
ers and  teachers,  pay  a  modest  sum  down  to  start  the  schools 
and  churches,  which  would  afterward  be  supported  by  tuitions, 
commissions  on  schoolbooks,  imported  school  furniture,  and 
free-will  offerings.  We  were  expected  to  work  for  our  living 
expenses  without  salary  until  the  schools  and  churches  were 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  35 

upon  a  satisfactory  financial  basis.  As  the  work  was  represented 
to  me  it  was  very  alluring.  The  people  were  anxious  for  the 
schools,  which  would  enable  them  to  keep  their  children  with 
them  instead  of  sending  them  abroad  to  be  educated.  The  lib- 
eral party  was  in  the  ascendency  in  Chile  and  granted  religious 
toleration.  It  would  take  but  a  short  time  to  found  a  school  of 
several  hundred  pupils.  We  were  to  contract  for  three  years. 
William  Taylor  offered  me  the  position  of  music  teacher  in  the 
embryo  school  at  Concepcion,  Chile. 

After  reading  the  letter  I  laid  it  away,  thinking  that  I  need  not 
answer  it.  I  began  to  select  the  music  for  the  choir  practice  that 
evening.  Somehow  the  letter  haunted  me.  I  wondered  if  I  had 
done  right  in  deciding  so  hastily.  The  next  morning  I  took  an 
early  train  to  the  town  where  my  father  was  stationed  [the  father 
was  a  Methodist  minister],  and  surprised  them  by  walking  in 
while  they  were  at  breakfast.  I  read  the  letter  to  them. 

Father  said,  "Of  course  you  will  not  go." 

Mother  asked,  "Do  you  want  to  go?" 

I  said :  "From  my  babyhood  you  have  taught  me  that  God 
had  a  mission  for  me  in  the  world.  I  have  asked  him  to  use 
me  where  I  could  do  the  most  good.  This  may  be  simply  a  test 
of  the  sincerity  of  my  consecration.  The  situation  is  none  of 
my  seeking." 

I  accepted,  and  in  less  than  three  weeks  I  had  closed  all  my 
classes,  procured  and  made  my  modest  outfit,  made  my  farewell 
calls  and  visits,  and  was  on  my  way  to  my  new  field  of  labor. 

As  arranged  by  William  Taylor,  the  committees  were  to  for- 
ward money  to  him  at  New  York  to  pay  the  outgoing  expenses 
of  the  persons  he  was  to  select  for  them.  The  promised  remit- 
tances had  not  arrived  from  South  America.  With  farewells 
said  and  all  arrangements  made,  the  party  was  assembled  at  the 
port  ready  to  sail.  What  could  they  do?  Go  back  home?  They 
took  steerage  passage. 

THE  VOYAGE 

Miss  Lelia  Waterhouse  wrote  a  description  of  the  voy- 
age, a  part  of  which  is  here  given : 

Mr.  Taylor  did  the  best  he  could  for  us.  Each  was  provided 
with  a  small  blanket  and  mattress  or  hammock.  We  put  our 


36     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

mites  together  and  bought  some  canned  goods  and  remedies. 
The  first  night  I  spent  down  in  the  hold  (or  lower  deck),  in  foul 
air,  with  the  portholes  all  closed,  and  for  fellow  passengers  the 
lowest  of  emigrants.  To  take  our  supper  we  stood  around  a 
long,  bare,  swaying,  swinging  shelf.  Each  person  was  provided 
with  a  tin  cup,  a  spoon,  a  plate,  and  an  old  steel  knife  and  fork. 
A  huge  dish  in  the  center  contained  the  mess  from  which  we 
were  supposed  to  dip.  I  never  attempted  to  eat  there  again,  and 
hardly  know  how  I  subsisted.  We  opened  some  of  the  canned 
food,  but  with  no  way  for  it  to  be  heated  or  seasoned,  it  was  not 
very  palatable.  My  bed  was  a  piece  of  canvas  stretched  on  poles. 
For  bedding  I  had  my  shawl,  a  blanket,  and  a  little  pillow  made 
from  one  of  my  mother's  large  ones.  By  morning  I  was  in  a 
stupor  and  they  had  to  carry  me  on  deck.  The  next  three  nights 
I  slept  on  the  hurricane  deck  on  my  mattress.  At  three  each 
morning  we  had  to  rise  and  take  refuge  on  the  hatchways  while 
the  sailors  scrubbed  the  deck.  With  one  or  two  exceptions  the 
sailors  were  a  coarse  lot. 

For  several  days  the  most  of  us  suffered  wretchedly  from  sea- 
sickness. One  gentleman  of  the  party  made  a  desperate  effort 
to  keep  up,  and  he  did  us  such  little  services  as  he  was  able. 
The  sailors  jeered  at  us.  One  night  a  thunder  shower  came  on 
suddenly.  The  women  were  weak  from  seasickness,  so  the 
sailors  picked  us  up  from  the  hurricane  deck  and  placed  us  on 
deck  below,  and  protected  us  with  tarpaulins.  My  situation  was 
so  novel,  hemmed  in  on  one  side  with  an  immense  coil  of  tarred 
rope  and  on  the  other  by  an  old  mattress  tipped  up,  that  I  began 
to  hum  softly,  "Rocked  in  the  Cradle  of  the  Deep."  I  heard  a 
movement,  and  looking  up  saw  the  face  of  a  young  sailor  looking 
down  upon  me. 

"Are  you  thirsty?"  he  asked. 

"Very,"  I  answered. 

He  went  away  and  soon  returned  with  ice  water.  I  knew  that 
this  luxury  was  not  provided  for  steerage  passengers  or  sailors. 
The  boy  lifted  me  and  I  let  the  blessed  draught  cool  my  fevered 
system.  Afterward  I  had  a  talk  with  the  boy  and  found  a  soft 
place  in  his  heart  for  his  home  and  his  mother,  and  I  had  a 
little  chance  to  instruct  him  about  the  ways  of  God.  On  the 
fourth  day  while  lying  on  one  of  the  hatches  I  had  a  sinking 
spell  which  alarmed  both  sailors  and  passengers.  After  trying 
their  remedies  in  vain  they  summoned  the  ship's  doctor,  who 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  37 

swore  big  oaths  because  they  did  not  call  him  before.  He  forced 
champagne  between  my  lips,  ordered  the  stateroom  next  to  the 
purser's  to  be  vacated,  had  the  burly  purser  carry  me  to  it,  and 
detailed  one  of  the  ladies  to  stay  in  the  stateroom  and  watch  me. 
He  also  ordered  food  to  be  served  to  me  from  the  cabin  table, 
and  was  very  kind,  though  rough  and  dissipated.  I  was  ill  and 
weak  all  the  way  to  Aspinwall  (Colon). 

We  crossed  the  Isthmus  on  the  railroad  which  had  cost  many 
lives  in  the  building,  and  had  to  wait  twenty-four  hours  for  a 
steamer  at  Panama. 

On  our  second  steamer  our  canvas  bunks  were  on  an  immense 
deck,  on  which  were  great  piles  of  tropical  fruits,  and  such  a 
mongrel  collection  of  passengers  that  the  men  of  our  party 
would  not  let  us  women  spend  our  nights  there.  We  slept  in 
staterooms  at  night,  but  lived  and  ate  on  deck  in  the  daytime. 
Our  men  secured  some  food  from  the  steward  after  the  cabin 
passengers  had  been  served,  to  add  to  our  uneatable  steerage 
fare.  We  used  our  cans  of  cocoa  for  drink  without  milk 
or  sugar. 

Arriving  at  Callao  some  of  the  missionaries  who  could  do  it 
paid  the  difference  in  the  fare  and  continued  the  journey  first 
class,  and  one  loaned  me  sufficient,  so  I  went  first  class  also. 

THE    PARTY    GETTING   LOCATED 

The  first  of  the  party  to  disembark  were  the  Rev.  A. 
P.  Stovvell  and  wife  and  Miss  Cora  B.  Benson.  They 
left  the  steamer  at  the  port  of  Arica  on  July  24  and  went 
to  Tacna,  twenty-four  miles  inland.  I  have  no  knowledge 
as  to  what  the  committee  had  done  in  fulfilling  their 
promises  to  William  Taylor  as  to  passage  money  to 
cover  the  outgoing  expenses  of  the  teachers,  nor  whether 
it  had  made  any  preparations  for  the  opening  of  the 
school.  It  appears  that  on  the  arrival  of  the  teachers 
they  gave  hearty  cooperation,  as  is  shown  by  a  circular 
published  on  November  i,  1878,  a  few  months  after  the 
arrival,  which  begins  as  follows : 


38     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

PROSPECTO 
ESCUELA  AMERICANA  PARA  NINOS  DE  AMBOS  SEXOS 

BAJO  LA  DIRECCION  DEL 

PROFESOR,  DON  A.  P.  STOWELL 

de  la  Universidad  de  Boston 


Esta  Escuela  projectada  por  el  Sr.  Guillermo  Taylor,  y  fundada 
con  la  cooperacion  de  los  Seiiores — 

DON  JOSE  OUTRAM, 
DON  JORJE  HELLMAN, 
DON  GUILLERMO  HELLMAN, 
DON  VENTURA  FARFAN, 
MR.  WILLIAM  C.  MACLEAN, 
MR.  JOHN  S.  JONES, 
MR.  WILLIAM  M.  ZIZOLD, 
MR.  CHARLES  BASADRE, 
MR.  CHARLES  PILOT. 

(PROSPECTUS. — American  School  for  Boys  and  Girls,  under  the 
direction  of  Professor  A.  P.  Stowell,  of  Boston  University. 
This  school  was  planned  by  Mr.  William  Taylor  and  founded 

by  the  aid  of  .  The  school  has  at  present  the  following 

teachers:  Mr.  A.  P.  Stowell,  Mrs.  A.  P.  Stowell,  Mr.  Charles 
Newhouse,  and  Miss  Cora  B.  Benson.) 

The  teaching  will  be  in  both  English  and  Spanish. 

School  desks,  piano,  and  school  furniture  were  pur- 
chased in  New  York  under  Mr.  Taylor's  supervision  and 
shipped  on  before.  The  teachers  were  very  well  received, 
and  were  well  pleased  with  the  city,  the  friends  they 
found,  and  the  prospects  of  the  field.  Mr.  Stowell  soon 
after  arrival  reported  that  the  work  had  opened  far  be- 
yond their  anticipation,  and  that  before  long  he  hoped  to 
begin  direct  gospel  work  among  the  English-speaking 
people. 

The  next  member  of  the  party  to  disembark  was  the 
Rev.  J.  W.  Collier.  He  had  been  appointed  to  Iquique, 
and  arrived  there  July  25.  This  port  is  the  principal  one 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  39 

for  shipping  nitrate  of  soda,  of  which  there  are  extensive 
deposits  in  the  interior.  There  was  a  fairly  good  British 
colony  at  this  port,  drawn  there  by  the  nitrate  industry  and 
the  shipping  and  railroad  interests,  which  are  largely  in 
their  hands.  Many  vessels,  chiefly  sailing  ships,  and 
many  British  sailors  are  in  the  harbor.  As  the  vessels 
often  stay  for  weeks  to  load,  there  is  a  good  opportunity 
to  work  among  the  sailors.  The  British  colony  resident 
on  shore  offered  ample  opportunity  for  school  and 
church  work. 

Mr.  Collier  soon  after  took  as  his  assistant  Mr.  Edward 
A.  Bay  ley,  late  of  San  Francisco,  California. 

At  Coquimbo  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Higgins  disembarked. 
The  committee  appointed  by  William  Taylor  when  there 
went  on  board  the  steamer  to  receive  Mr.  Higgins. 
Messrs.  J.  Grierson ;  R.  John,  a  Wesleyan  local  preacher ; 
A.  Treweek ;  T.  J.  W.  Millie,  and  O.  W.  Jenkins  formed 
the  committee.  They  had  secured  a  dwelling  house  and 
remodeled  it  for  a  chapel  at  an  expense  of  $600.  Mr. 
Higgins  reported  "the  chapel  as  pleasant  and  comfortable, 
the  people  sing  well — yes,  better  than  that,  they  all  sing, 
and  that  right  heartily.  Every  one  seems  interested." 
"The  committee  had  invited  Dr.  Trumbull  to  stop  off  on 
his  way  north  to  give  us  a  good  send-off.  Well,  we  gat 
it,  and  a  glorious  one  it  was."  The  Chilean  Times,  a 
periodical  published  in  the  interests  of  the  English-speak- 
ing residents  in  Chile,  in  its  report  of  the  opening  serv- 
ices, closes  with  the  following:  "Altogether,  the  church  at 
Coquimbo  promises  to  be  a  permanently  useful  institu- 
tion, the  unsectarian  character  of  which,  and  the  manifest 
activity  and  zeal  of  its  pastor,  will  doubtless  render  it  a 
blessing  not  only  to  Coquimbo  but  also  to  various  other 
places  in  the  province,  to  which  it  is  intended  that  he 
shall  pay  periodical  visits.  'Union  is  strength,'  and  this 


40     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

successful  result  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Taylor's  visit  may  well 
induce  many  other  places  on  the  coast  to  try  what  they 
can  do." 

Valparaiso  is  the  most  important  port  after  San  Fran- 
cisco, on  the  whole  west  coast  of  both  Americas.  The 
Rev.  Ira  Haynes  LaFetra,  of  whom  mention  has  already 
been  made  in  speaking  of  his  call  to  South  America  by 
William  Taylor,  was  appointed  to  labor  among  the  sea- 
men at  this  port. 

Years  afterward  Mr.  LaFetra  wrote :  "During  the  year 
I  spent  in  that  work  it  was  my  privilege  to  live  in  the 
family  of  Dr.  David  Trumbull,  that  veteran  hero  and 
pioneer  of  Protestantism  in  Chile.  It  was  he  who  fought 
the  battle  for  religious  liberty,  and  was  chiefly  instrumen- 
tal in  securing  the  interpretative  law  which  so  modified 
the  fifth  article  of  the  constitution  as  to  give  to  Prot- 
estants the  right  of  worship.  It  was  a  benediction  to  live 
so  closely  associated  with  him,  and  gather  inspiration  and 
courage  and  faith  from  his  daily  prayers  and  patriarchal 
counsels." 

As  early  as  1844  a  request  had  been  forwarded  to  New 
York  that  a  minister  might  be  sent  to  Valparaiso  to  gather 
a  congregation  of  British  and  American  residents  and 
seafaring  men.  The  Foreign  and  Evangelical  Society 
took  up  the  request,  and  on  December  25,  1845,  tne  RCV- 
David  Trumbull  arrived  in  Valparaiso  to  begin  the  work. 
The  congregation  he  gathered  continued  to  grow  in 
numbers  and  influence.  In  1855  it  built  the  first  Prot- 
estant church  edifice  in  Chile  and  became  wholly  self- 
supporting.  In  1869  it  moved  to  its  present  beautiful  and 
commodious  edifice,  situated  on  one  of  the  principal 
streets.  Its  organization  is  undenominational.  It  seems 
that  later  Dr.  Trumbull  was  connected  with  the  Ameri- 
can and  Foreign  Christian  Union,  whether  by  a  simple 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  41 

change  in  the  name  or  by  a  change  of  relations  to  another 
society  is  not  stated. 

In  1860  Mrs.  Trumbull  started  a  school  for  girls.  In 
1868  the  first  church  for  Chileans  was  organized,  with 
Mr.  Gilbert  as  pastor.  In  1873  tne  work  of  the  American 
and  Foreign  Christian  Union  was  all  passed  over  to  the 
care  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and 
there  it  has  remained. 

The  rest  of  that  first  party  of  nine,  the  Rev.  William 
Wright,  Miss  Lelia  Waterhouse,  and  Miss  Sarah  Long- 
ley,  were  appointed  to  Concepcion.  After  five  days  in 
Valparaiso  they  started  south.  They  had  notified  Mr. 
William  Lawrence,  the  chairman  of  the  committee  with 
whom  William  Taylor  had  arranged  for  the  establishing 
of  the  school,  of  the  date  which  they  would  arrive.  But 
no  reply  was  received.  The  reception  which  they  re- 
ceived on  arrival  can  best  be  given  in  the  words  of  one 
of  the  party,  Miss  Waterhouse: 

I  shall  never  forget  the  cold,  rainy,  midwinter  August  day.  No 
one  met  us  at  the  station,  so  we  inquired  our  weary  way  to  the 
house  of  Mr.  Lawrence.  We  waited  a  long  time  at  the  door 
while  the  maid  took  in  our  names.  We  waited  a  still  longer 
time  in  the  parlor,  as  Mrs.  Lawrence  was  at  breakfast.  When 
she  came  in  we  saw  a  pleasant-looking  English  lady,  but  she 
looked  constrained  and  distressed;  and  after  a  formal  greeting, 
said:  "I  am  going. to  be  very  frank  with  you.  I  think  the  best 
thing  you  can  do  is  to  turn  about  and  go  right  home.  My  hus- 
band declines  to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  school,  for  it  may 
hurt  his  business  with  the  Catholics.  He  has  not  taken  any  of 
the  subscriptions,  and  says  that  the  time  has  not  come  to  start 
an  English  school." 

Mr.  Wright  and  Miss  Longley  were  speechless.  I  felt  that 
something  must  be  said,  and  ventured  to  remark,  "But,  Mrs. 
Lawrence,  we  have  come  to  stay." 

She  looked  at  me  in  amazement,  then  said,  "Oh,  but  the  priests 
and  Catholic  editors  are  talking  awfully  about  you,  and  setting 
the  people  against  you." 


42     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

"A  very  good  way  to  advertise  us,"  I  quietly  replied. 

She  again  looked  at  me  in  great  surprise  and  then  relaxed 
from  her  distress,  and  soon  she  confided  that  personally  she  was 
very  anxious  to  have  an  English  school,  for  then  she  would  not 
be  obliged  to  have  her  youngest  daughter  sent  to  England  to  be 
educated.  Just  then  Captain  Willson's  wife,  a  near  neighbor, 
who  had  been  notified  of  our  arrival,  came  in  with  some  letters. 
We  soon  had  the  two  women  interested  in  our  scheme.  They 
offered  their  services  as  interpreters  in  securing  a  house,  fur- 
nishings, etc.  We  remained  to  lunch  with  Mrs.  Lawrence,  and 
met  her  husband.  He  was  rather  gruff  in  his  bearing  toward 
us  and  discouraged  all  talk  of  a  school.  We  took  rooms  at  a 
hotel,  and  I  immediately  secured  one  pupil  in  music.  We  secured 
a  vacant  house  and  had  it  cleaned,  and  improvised  some  school 
furniture,  as  that  from  the  States  had  not  arrived.  We  began 
with  a  few  pupils  in  each  department.  The  time  was  un- 
fortunate, as  it  was  the  last  half  of  the  school  year.  Nearly 
all  school  children  were  in  other  schools  with  tuitions  paid  in 
advance. 


It  was  a  discouraging  start.  Mr.  Lawrence  had  said  so 
much  about  the  impossibility  of  sustaining  a  school  in  the 
face  of  the  opposition  of  the  Roman  Catholics  that  great 
caution  was  practiced.  The  only  visible  religious  service 
was  the  saying  of  grace  at  the  table.  Later  the  fear 
passed  and  religious  services  were  introduced. 

The  committee  had  miserably  failed  in  fulfilling  its 
agreement  with  William  Taylor  and  had  placed  the 
worthy  persons  sent  out  by  him  in  a  position  most  diffi- 
cult and  unjust.  But  they  did  not  back  out.  They  went 
in  to  do  what  they  could  for  themselves.  The  Lord  God 
was  with  them.  Writing  now  forty  full  years  after  that 
date,  I  am  able  to  state  that  the  work  begun  by  them 
under  such  discouraging  circumstances  has  gone  on  with- 
out interruption  from  that  day,  and  with  marked  success. 
That  can  be  said  of  only  two  others  of  the  stations  opened 
by  William  Taylor  on  the  West  Coast. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  43 

THE  SECOND  PARTY 

The  Rev.  Alexander  T.  Jeffrey  and  wife  and  the  Rev. 
Lucius  Smith  and  wife  sailed  from  New  York  August 
30,  1878.  Mr.  Jeffrey  was  appointed  to  the  port  of 
Antofagasta,  and  opened  a  school  there  September  28. 
The  province  of  Antofagasta  extends  along  the  sea  for 
more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  reaching  to  the 
26th  degree  south  latitude;  embracing  all  the  seacoast 
which  belonged  to  Bolivia.  It  was  the  one  important  port 
of  that  republic. 

In  a  letter  written  September  14,  1878,  to  the  Rev.  Ira 
H.  LaFetra,  Brother  Jeffrey  says :  "The  people  of  Anto- 
fagasta received  us  well.  They  wanted  a  school,  but  no 
church.  Never  but  one  or  two  Protestant  sermons  have 
been  preached  here  since  the  town  was  built.  The  people 
are  all  a  good,  jolly  set  of  wine-drinkers.  Have  not  been 
able  to  find  a  praying  man  or  woman  in  all  this  'Sodom' 
save  the  Romanists." 

Under  date  October  14,  1878,  he  writes:  "The  school 
has  opened  well.  It  has  grown  beyond  the  expectations 
of  every  one.  One  half  of  the  scholars  are  children  of 
native  parents.  Some  of  them  are  Bolivians.  I  had  a 
service  and  twenty-five  souls  crowded  into  a  room  in  the 
house  of  Mr.  Hodgkinson.  It  was  a  good  meeting.  We 
have  no  Sabbath.  The  saltpeter  works  and  merchant 
ships  all  work  on  Sunday." 

April  i,  1879,  he  writes:  "The  war  cloud  grows  darker. 
It  may  burst  at  any  time  at  Antofagasta." 

The  Rev.  Lucius  Smith  was  appointed  to  Copiapo,  and 
arrived  there  September  I,  1878.  Copiapo  is  a  pleasant 
city,  at  that  time  of  about  eighteen  thousand  inhabitants, 
situated  forty  miles  inland  from  the  port  o£  Caldera, 
with  which  it  is  connected  by  a  railroad.  That  railroad 


44     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

was  the  first  one  built  in  South  America.  It  was  con- 
structed in  1851  by  William  Wheelwright,  a  native  of 
Newburyport,  Massachusetts.  Copiapo  was  the  center 
of  the  rich  silver  and  copper  mining  of  that  region. 

On  September  16  the  school  opened  with  twenty-five 
scholars.  In  addition  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  had  private 
classes  in  vocal  and  instrumental  music.  The  Board  of 
Directors  gave  their  hearty  cooperation.  Mr.  Smith  gave 
a  very  encouraging  report  of  the  religious  work.  He  had 
preaching  service  on  Sunday  morning,  Sunday  school  in 
the  afternoon,  and  prayer  and  praise  service  in  the 
evening. 

THE  THIRD  PARTY 

A  third  party,  consisting  of  the  Rev.  Charles  W. 
Birdsall  and  wife,  the  Rev.  Magnus  Smith  and  wife, 
Charles  Newhouse,  and  Miss  Edith  Collier,  sailed  from 
New  York  November  30,  1878.  The  party  was  distrib- 
uted as  follows:  The  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Birdsall  were  sta- 
tioned at  Colon.  Mr.  Birdsall  expected  to  devote  his 
time  to  ministerial  and  pastoral  work,  extending  his 
labors  along  the  Isthmus,  possibly  as  far  as  Panama. 
There  was  need  also  for  a  good  school.  The  successful 
arrangements  for  the  opening  of  this  work  were  largely 
due  to  Mr.  Moseley,  superintendent  of  the  Panama 
Railroad. 

The  Rev.  Magnus  Smith  and  Mrs.  Smith  were  ap- 
pointed to  Mollendo,  the  second  port  in  Peru  in  impor- 
tance. This  port  serves  for  Arequipa  and  the  rich  val- 
ley in  which  it  is  situated ;  and  by  the  railroad  which  goes 
up  over  the  Andes  to  Puno,  on  Lake  Titicaca,  forms  a 
port  of  entry  and  export  for  quite  a  region  in  the  high- 
lands of  Peru,  of  which  the  old  Inca  city  of  Cuzco  is 
the  center.  At  the  same  time  it  renders  similar  service 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  45 

to  the  city  of  La  Paz  and  the  surrounding  regions  in 
Bolivia. 

In  a  letter  written  to  the  Rev.  Ira  H.  LaFetra  Mr. 
Smith  says:  "We  found  nothing  ready.  No  one  came 
to  meet  us,  and  no  one  offered  us  hospitality.  I  began 
a  boys'  school  January  7,  1879.  I  had  only  five  boys  at 
first,  and  only  fourteen  up  to  March  10.  Mrs.  Smith 
began  a  school  for  girls  January  27.  Up  to  March  she 
had  only  five  girls."  Thus  the  men  who  composed  the 
committee  formed  by  William  Taylor  and  others  who 
had  expressed  a  desire  for  the  school  and  had  pledged  to 
aid  in  its  support  nearly  all  failed.  It  is  probable  that  the 
priests  had  given  them  to  understand  that  their  business 
interests  would  suffer  if  they  supported  this  school  in- 
stead of  sending  their  children  to  a  church  school. 

In  another  letter  Mr.  Smith  says:  "I  began  a  Sunday 
school.  The  first  Sunday  I  had  six  scholars ;  the  second, 
eight.  There  are  very  few  English  and  American  resi- 
dents. The  population  is  chiefly  Peruvian  and  Italian. 
I  cannot  yet  start  preaching.  I  am  told  that  it  will  not 
do.  Besides,  the  Protestants  are  few  and  indifferent. 
I  could  not  get  a  congregation.  I  do  not  know  of  a  for- 
eign man  in  this  place  who  is  a  professor  of  religion,  and 
I  do  not  think  there  are  more  than  three  women." 

Mr.  Smith  was  splendidly  equipped.  He  held  the 
degree  of  B.  A.,  and  had  taken  postgraduate  studies 
in  Germany. 

Mr.  Charles  Newhouse  went  to  Tacna  to  teach  in  the 
school  the  Rev.  A.  P.  Stowell  had  started  there. 

Miss  Edith  Collier  went  to  Iquique  to  aid  her  brother 
in  the  flourishing  school  he  had  opened  in  that  place. 

Early  in  the  year  1879  the  Rev.  Charles  H.  Hoffman 
and  wife  and  the  Rev.  Oscar  von  Barchwitz-Krauser 
arrived  at  Valparaiso,  having  come  out  to  work  among 


46     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

the  German  colonists  in  southern  Chile.  Mr.  Hoffman 
went  at  once  to  work  among  the  Germans  in  Valdivia, 
and  Von  Barchwitz-Krauser  went  among  the  Germans  at 
Osorno,  Puerto  Varas,  and  the  scattered  settlements 
around  Lake  Llanquihue,  much  as  the  early  Methodist 
itinerants  went  among  the  settlers  from  house  to  house, 
visiting  and  gathering  the  people  in  little  groups  as  cir- 
cumstances permitted. 

Besides  the  stations  started  in  southern  Chile  among 
the  Germans  in  1879,  another  new  station  was  opened. 
At  Lobos  Islands  the  Rev.  James  P.  Gilliland  and  Mrs. 
Gilliland  arrived  on  the  west  coast  probably  in  August. 
They  came  out  expecting  to  start  work  at  Mejillones,  a 
port  of  Bolivia.  They  found  the  port  blockaded.  They 
decided,  therefore,  to  go  to  Lobos  Islands  and  work 
among  the  seamen.  At  times  there  were  twenty  or  more 
vessels  loading  guano  at  those  islands,  hence  there  were 
many  sailors.  The  captains  received  them  cordially  and 
gave  them  facilities  in  working  among  the  seamen  and 
in  securing  support.  Unfortunately,  in  December  the 
islands  were  visited  by  a  Chilean  gunboat,  which  sank  the 
launches  and  partly  destroyed  the  wharf.  It  warned  the 
vessels  to  leave  and  threatened  to  return  in  a  few  days. 
After  waiting  twenty  days,  as  the  gunboat  did  not  return, 
the  launches  were  raised  and  repaired,  and  the  vessels 
completed  their  cargoes,  and  then  went  away  not  to 
return.  Therefore  the  Gillilands  had  to  leave.  On  Feb- 
ruary 14,  1880,  they  reached  Callao. 

In  July,  1879,  Mrs.  Marietta  Vasbinder,  a  widowed 
sister  of  Lucius  Smith,  arrived  at  Copiapo,  having  come 
out  to  aid  her  brother  in  the  work  there. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  47 

CHAPTER  IV 
MOVING  FORWARD 

WITHIN  nine  months  from  the  date  of  his  arrival  in 
the  States  after  his  visit  to  South  America,  William  Tay- 
lor had  sent  out  ten  single  missionaries  and  seven  mar- 
ried men  and  their  wives. 

They  were  distributed  in  ten  different  stations,  and  in 
a  short  time  work  was  organized  in  each.  A  few  selec- 
tions are  taken  from  reports  published  in  the  Record,  of 
Valparaiso,  which  tell  something  of  the  progress  which 
was  being  made. 

Mr.  Collier,  writing  from  Iquique,  said : 

This  is  the  place  of  all  places  in  Peru — the  richest,  the  wick- 
edest, the  most  inviting  to  the  missionary.  I  would  not  exchange 
it  for  any  I  know.  The  work  is  opening  grandly.  I  hold  service 
on  shipboard  every  morning  at  ten  o'clock,  and  have  a  good 
congregation.  My  shore  work  is  progressing  as  finely.  The 
promise  for  a  good,  thorough  work  is  so  great  that  I  am  calling 
upon  all  to  praise  the  Lord  together  with  me  and  exalt  his  name. 
The  school  is  not  yet  under  way.  We  have  just  engaged  a  house 
which  will  serve  the  purpose  of  a  church  and  schoolhouse. 

The  reports  we  receive  are  very  encouraging.  Mr.  Higgins' 
services  have  been  well  attended  and  religious  interest  is  mani- 
fested. The  young  people  of  the  church  and  Sabbath  school  have 
organized  a  temperance  society.  This  is  an  excellent  work  which 
will  do  much  in  winning  back  the  intemperate  and  in  saving  the 
young  from  forming  habits  of  intemperance. 

Mr.  Higgins  has  been  extending  his  work  to  neighboring 
towns.  He  visited  Tongoy  and  preached  two  evenings  to  audi- 
ences of  nineteen  and  eighteen ;  then  to  Sauces,  up  in  the  moun- 
tains, where  the  miners  received  him  with  open  arms.  He 
preached  there  and  visited  the  families.  Then  on  around  the 
mountain  to  the  Pique  mine,  where  he  found  a  number  of  Wes- 
leyan  Methodists.  They  were  anxious  to  have  a  class  formed. 


48     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

His  visits  took  in  also  Tamaya  and  Panulcillo.  Later  he  made  a 
trip  in  another  direction,  visiting  Serena,  and  the  mines,  Com- 
pania  and  Brillador.  He  says:  "A  great  part  of  the  way  I  am 
compelled  to  travel  on  horseback.  This  week  I  visit  three  places ; 
next  week  I  am  to  be  gone  the  whole  week.  The  week  following 
I  visit  the  three  places,  and  so  on.  I  am  arranging  for  an  extra 
service  to  be  held  on  Sabbath  afternoon  in  Guayacan,  a  Welsh 
community,  which  has  a  little  chapel  but  no  minister  at  present." 

Of  Valparaiso  sailor  work  Mr.  LaFetra  wrote:  "The 
Committee  of  the  Seamen's  Evangelical  Society  gave  me 
a  most  kindly  greeting  as  their  chaplain.  The  inaugura- 
tion and  progress  of  the  work  in  the  Bay  have  been 
encouraging,  and  give  every  hope  of  a  permanent  and 
useful  work.  Ship  masters  and  officers  and  men  have  all 
been  most  kind  in  the  welcome  they  have  given  us  on 
board  their  vessels,  and  in  the  trouble  they  have  taken  to 
afford  us  pleasant  accommodations  for  our  services.  The 
first  service  was  held  Sunday  morning,  August  4,  on 
board  the  Sarah  Anderson,  Captain  Foley.  Seven  cap- 
tains, several  masters,  and  over  fifty  in  all  were  present." 
After  reporting  quite  a  number  of  services  held  on  the 
same  and  different  vessels,  he  adds:  "Evening  services 
have  also  been  held  on  a  number  of  vessels.  It  is  the 
desire  to  organize  a  fellowship  band  among  the  men  on 
board  every  vessel,  to  meet  once  a  week  for  singing,  study 
of  the  Scriptures,  and  prayer  and  testimony,  so  they  can 
keep  up  service  during  the  time  they  are  away  on  the 
voyage.  Work  on  land  also,  at  the  English  hospital  and 
at  the  boarding  houses,  gives  promise  of  doing  much 
good.  The  schools  at  Concepcion  and  Copiapo  began  the 
new  year  (the  third  of  March)  with  good  prospects.  Mr. 
Wright,  at  the  former  place,  opened  with  sixty-one  pupils, 
a  number  of  whom  are  from  a  distance  and  board  at  the 
school." 

The  Record  published  the  following:  "Congratulations 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  49 

are  now  in  order  on  account  of  another  event  of  no  little 
importance  to  the  school.  Saturday,  March  8th,  on 
board  the  United  States  ship  Pensacola,  in  Talcahuano 
Bay,  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  McAllister,  chaplain,  Mr.  W.  A. 
Wright  and  Miss  Sarah  E.  Longley  were  united  in 
marriage." 

ORGANIZATION  NEEDED 

While  the  missionaries  in  starting  their  work  had  fol- 
lowed more  or  less  the  general  plan  formed  by  William 
Taylor,  yet  at  each  station  the  work  had  been  organized 
to  quite  an  extent  according  to  the  ideas  of  the  mission- 
aries in  charge  and  had  been  adapted  to  the  conditions 
found  there.  There  was  no  uniformity,  no  general  organ- 
ization, no  central  authority.  The  missionaries  looked  to 
William  Taylor  as  the  central  authority,  but  he  was  far 
away  and  very  much  occupied  in  visiting  camp  meetings, 
Conferences,  and  churches,  and  in  selling  books,  in  an 
effort  to  raise  money  sufficient  to  meet  the  most  pressing 
needs  of  the  tremendous  enterprise  he  had  undertaken. 
The  utmost  he  could  do  was  to  give  some  tardy  general 
supervision  through  correspondence.  There  was  noth- 
ing that  bound  the  stations  together  except  the  common 
interest  in  the  Lord's  work  in  that  field  and  the  common 
sympathy  of  the  missionaries  with  each  other.  The  sta- 
tions were  virtually  independent  in  administration  and 
finances.  The  situation  might  well  have  been  summed 
up  by  the  missionary  saying  to  himself :  "Well,  I  am  here. 
Now  it  is  root,  hog,  or  die." 

Naturally,  not  all  those  who  had  gone  out  would  be 
equally  capable  as  administrators  or  as  workers.  The 
wisest  among  them  comprehended  better  the  task  before 
them,  and  saw  the  need  of  good  organization  and  wise 
leadership. 


50     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

Early  in  the  year  1879  they  undertook  to  get  the  mis- 
sionaries together  in  a  conference,  called  to  be  held  on 
January  24  at  Coquimbo.  The  purpose  of  the  meeting 
was  the  consideration  of  methods  for  more  united  effort 
and  the  discussion  of  the  best  means  for  extending  Bible 
work,  Christian  literature,  temperance,  and  evangelistic 
work,  both  among  the  foreign  residents  and  on  shipboard. 

The  conditions,  however,  were  not  conducive  to  the 
plan.  Few  were  able  to  attend — too  few  to  form  a  con- 
ference. In  a  report  of  the  meeting  which  was  pub- 
lished in  the  Record  of  Valparaiso  the  only  names  given 
as  present  were  those  of  Mr.  Higgins,  the  pastor  at 
Coquimbo;  Lucius  Smith,  of  Copiapo;  H.  Jeffrey,  of 
Antofagasta;  and  I.  H.  LaFetra,  of  Valparaiso.  But 
communications  from,  nearly  all  of  the  others,  with 
reports  from  their  several  fields,  were  received.  No  rec- 
ords of  this  meeting  have  been  found,  but  it  seems  from 
the  correspondence  that  different  matters  relating  to  the 
work  of  the  mission  stations  were  considered  and  put 
into  shape  to  be  presented  by  correspondence  to  the  absent 
members  of  the  mission. 

One  sad  event  had  occurred  before  the  date  of  the 
conference.  Stricken  with  typhus  fever,  after  an  illness 
of  two  weeks,  Mrs.  Lucius  Smith  passed  to  her  eternal 
rest  on  the  28th  day  of  December,  1878.  It  was  just  five 
months  after  her  arrival,  and  only  six  months  after  the 
arrival  of  the  first  missionaries.  She  was  a  gifted  mis- 
sionary worker,  and  entered  with  all  her  heart  into  the 
work.  Her  death  cast  a  gloom  over  all.  Apart  from  this 
sad  event,  the  outlook  for  the  new  self-supporting  mis- 
sions at  the  beginning  of  1879  was  auspicious.  The 
missionaries  sent  out  by  William  Taylor  were  settled 
and  at  work  under  conditions  which  gave  promise  of 
support  and  the  accomplishment  of  good  results.  But 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  51 

many  difficulties  attended  the  work.  Direct  evangelistic 
work  even  among  Protestant  foreigners  was  not  easy 
because  of  the  social  persecution  of  their  families  and 
of  the  boycotting  of  their  business.  Religious  work  in 
the  schools  had  to  be  done  with  great  caution.  Some 
missionaries  doubtless  were  over  bold  and  failed  to  ac- 
complish as  much  as  otherwise  they  might  have  achieved. 
Others  were  too  timid,  reaching  the  extreme  in  one  case 
where  the  head  of  the  school  was  not  willing  to  have 
mention  made  of  his  school  in  the  Protestant  religious 
paper  published  at  Valparaiso,  and  was  afraid  to  have 
Mr.  LaFetra  visit  his  school  because  he  was  known  as 
a  Protestant  clergyman. 

The  sun  which  shone  so  bright  with  promise  upon  the 
missionary  band  at  the  beginning  of  1879  was  soon  ob- 
scured with  blackest  clouds.  They  were  brought  face 
to  face  with  unexpected  and  great  difficulties.  On  Feb- 
ruary 12,  1879,  war  was  declared  between  Chile  and 
Bolivia.  Antofagasta,  the  chief  port  of  Bolivia,  was  at 
the  complete  mercy  of  the  Chilean  fleet,  as  Bolivia  had 
no  navy.  But  Peru  had  formed  an  alliance  with  Bolivia, 
hence  the  president  of  Chile,  Anibal  Pinto,  on  April  5 
declared  war  against  Peru.  The  war  clouds  thick  and 
dark  hung  over  every  port  from  Tumbes,  in  the  north  of 
Peru,  to  the  Straits  of  Magellan.  No  one  knew  where 
the  lightning  might  strike.  Commerce  was  paralyzed. 
The  more  important  central  ports  were  in  especial  dan- 
ger. Apparently,  the  Peruvian  fleet  was  the  stronger, 
but  Chile  took  the  offensive. 

ANTOFAGASTA  ABANDONED 

The  Rev.  and  Mrs.  A.  J.  Jeffrey  had  to  abandon  Anto- 
fagasta. The  work  begun  there  had  to  be  dropped.  They 
proceeded  to  Valparaiso.  They  were  without  occupation 


52     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

or  means  of  support.  The  Rev.  Ira  H.  LaFetra,  who 
was  stationed  at  Valparaiso  by  William  Taylor,  had  suc- 
ceeded in  establishing  a  successful  self-supporting  work 
among  the  seamen.  Considering  that  it  would  be  much 
easier  for  him,  a  single  man,  to  secure  support  than  for 
the  Jeffreys,  he  gave  over  his  work  to  them.  Soon  after, 
in  addition  to  work  in  the  bay,  Mr.  Jeffrey  tried  to  start 
work  among  seamen  on  shore,  but  without  success. 

Mr.  LaFetra  sought  a  new  field.  An  Anglican  clergy- 
man, the  Rev.  Mr.  Quick,  had  held  services  in  English 
at  Santiago,  but  he  had  abandoned  the  work  more  than  a 
year  previous.  LaFetra  tried  to  start  anew  the  church 
services  and  succeeded.  Santiago  was  the  capital  of  the 
republic  of  Chile,  and  the  most  important  city  except  San 
Francisco  on  the  west  coast  of  both  Americas.  The 
Union  Church  was  founded  as  the  outgrowth  of  the  work 
which  LaFetra  started,  a  church  which  through  the  years 
has  done  a  great  work  for  Christ,  a  continual  source  of 
spiritual  power  and  blessing  to  the  English-speaking 
community. 

The  flourishing  work  begun  by  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Collier 
at  Iquique,  the  principal  center  of  the  nitrate  of  soda 
industry,  had  to  be  abandoned  on  account  of  the  Chilean 
fleet,  which  made  it  impossible  to  ship  the  nitrate,  and 
worse,  to  supply  the  people  with  food  and  water.  Mr. 
Collier  and  his  sister  Edith  left  for  Coquimbo.  Soon 
after  they  went  to  Lota  and  started  a  school  and  began 
church  services.  The  principal  coal  mines  of  Chile  were 
at  Lota,  and  there  was  quite  a  good  English-speaking 
colony.  Thus  though  the  stations  at  Antofagasta  and 
Iquique  had  to  be  abandoned,  the  workers  were  soon 
engaged  in  other  towns  farther  south. 

Unfortunately,  the  case  at  Tacna  was  not  so.  Word 
was  received  in  August  that  both  Stowell  and  his  wife 


REV.  GOODSIL  F.  ARMS 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  53 

were  confined  to  their  beds  with  sickness.  The  school 
was  discontinued.  Perhaps  by  giving  a  part  of  a  letter 
written  by  the  Rev.  A.  P.  Stowell  to  Ira  H.  LaFetra, 
dated  October  25,  1879,  the  story  can  best  be  told: 

It  is  with  a  sad  and  broken  heart  I  write  you.  I  suppose  you 
have  learned  ere  this  that  we  were  compelled  to  leave  Peru  on 
account  of  the  failure  of  health.  I  took  a  severe  cold  the  last 
week  in  June,  which  brought  on  a  severe  attack  of  pneumonia. 
My  wife  took  cold  about  the  same  time.  Many  in  the  city  at  that 
time  were  suffering  from  colds  and  pneumonia.  My  dear  wife 
died  of  quick  consumption  about  fourteen  days  after  reaching 
home.  I  am  about  discouraged.  Life  has  for  me  not  a  single 
ray  of  joy  or  happiness.  All  that  I  held  dear  upon  earth  is  gone, 
and  I  have  prayed  earnestly  that  I  might  be  taken  also.  The 
only  reason  why  I  am  glad  that  I  recovered  is  that  I  was  able 
to  get  my  dear  wife  home  to  die  surrounded  by  a  loving  mother 
and  Christian  friends.  She  was  thankful  that  her  loving  heav- 
enly Father  spared  her  for  that.  Although  she  had  such  a  hard 
year  in  Peru,  she  said  before  dying  that  it  was  the  happiest  year 
of  her  life. 

Miss  Cora  Benson,  the  missionary  associated  with  the 
Stowells,  though  alone,  would  not  abandon  her  work. 
Mr.  Higgins  wrote :  "I  glory  in  Miss  Benson's  pluck.  It 
takes  the  bull-dog  grit  to  live  upon  this  coast." 

The  school  started  by  the  Stowells  was  rapidly  grow- 
ing, having  seventy  pupils  already.  Their  departure 
seemed  most  unfortunate.  But  because  of  sickness  and 
death  that  work  was  not  to  be  closed.  Others  had  heard 
God's  call  and  were  ready.  The  Rev.  Fletcher  Hum- 
phrey and  wife  sailed  from  New  York  before  the  end  of 
the  year,  and  reopened  the  school  at  the  beginning  of  the 
school  year,  March  I.  The  sickness  of  Brother  Stowell 
and  the  death  of  his  wife  did  not  deter  them  from  going 
to  Tacna.  Sad  to  relate  that  work  had  soon  to  be  aban- 
doned. Tacna,  the  chief  city  of  the  province,  and  Arica, 


54     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

the  port,  came  to  be  the  principal  storm  center  in  the 
bloody  conflict  between  Chile  and  Peru.  It  made  nec- 
essary the  abandonment  of  the  work  so  bravely  sustained 
by  Miss  Benson  and  so  nobly  taken  up  by  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Humphrey.  Miss  Benson  remained  at  Tacna  for  some 
time,  teaching  in  a  private  family.  The  Humphreys  went 
to  Santiago. 

The  greatest  misfortune  of  all  that  befell  that  strug- 
gling infant  mission  during  those  terrible  days  was  that 
at  Mollendo.  The  Rev.  Magnus  Smith  was  stricken 
with  fever,  and  while  very  sick  that  port  was  bombarded 
by  the  Chilean  fleet.  He  had  to  be  carried  out  of  the 
town  on  his  bed,  the  exposure  causing  his  death  a  few 
days  later.  This,  perhaps,  was  the  saddest  event  in  the 
history  of  the  Taylor  missions  on  the  west  coast.  The 
bereaved  widow  among  strangers,  without  a  home,  in  a 
port  subject  at  any  time  to  the  attacks  of  the  enemy, 
business  paralyzed,  with  no  means  of  support,  stricken 
and  inconsolable  at  the  loss  of  her  husband,  availed  her- 
self of  the  first  opportunity  to  return  to  the  United 
States.  Her  situation  was  desperate,  because  the  meth- 
ods up  to  that  date  employed  by  William  Taylor  in  this 
self-supporting  mission  provided  no  funds  to  cover  home- 
going  expenses,  or  the  support  of  sick  and  disabled  mis- 
sionaries either  at  home  or  on  the  field. 

The  other  missionaries  of  that  mission  felt  deeply  the 
sad  situation  of  Mrs.  Smith,  but  could  do  but  little.  They 
themselves  were  in  a  most  critical  situation,  due  to  the 
war.  They  were  finding  it  almost  impossible  to  provide 
themselves  with  the  bare  necessities  of  life.  Thus  it  was 
impossible  for  them  to  give  her  much  aid.  She  managed 
to  get  home,  but  her  position  then  was  a  very  hard  one. 
The  Rev.  A.  P.  Stowell,  in  a  letter  to  Brother  LaFetra, 
wrote:  "I  had  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Magnus  Smith  yester- 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  55 

day.  She  asked  if  I  could  ascertain  among  friends  if  she 
could  get  a  place  where  she  could  earn  her  living  by  serv- 
ing, doing  dressmaking,  or  other  work.  Her  health  is 
very  poor,  and  it  seems  too  bad  that  a  woman  who  has 
sacrificed  so  much  for  the  cause  should  be  compelled  to 
earn  her  living  by  hard  labor  before  she  is  able  to  work. 
Truly,  'She  hath  done  what  she  could.'  It  will  be  a 
shame  and  a  disgrace  for  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
to  allow  that  woman  to  suffer  financially." 

A  second  great  affliction  came  to  the  mission.  The 
Rev.  Charles  M.  Birdsall,  at  Colon,  after  about  seven 
months  of  labor,  was  called  to  the  better  land.  The  rec- 
ords at  hand  give  no  further  data  except  that  Mrs.  Bird- 
sall returned  to  the  States,  and  that  the  Rev.  E.  L.  La- 
tham was  sent  out  to  take  up  the  work  which  Brother 
Birdsall  had  in  charge.  He  was  there  probably  two  or 
three  years.  He  went  from  there  to  Central  America, 
where  he  labored  a  while  before  returning  to  the  States. 
In  visiting  a  Wesleyan  Methodist  pastor  at  Colon  I  learned 
that  William  Taylor  passed  all  his  work  at  the  Isthmus 
over  to  the  Wesleyan  Church,  and  also  the  property 
which  had  been  acquired. 

DEFECTIVE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  TAYLOR  WORK 

The  terrible  afflictive  situation  in  which  Mrs.  Smith 
was  left  after  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Magnus  Smith 
shows  a  most  serious  defect  in  the  methods  of  the  William 
Taylor  Self-Supporting  Missions  on  the  West  Coast  of 
South  America.  If  the  circumstances  were  given  in  the 
other  cases  of  sickness  and  death  which  occurred  among 
the  missionaries,  they  would  also  show  how  great  was 
this  defect  during  all  those  first  years. 

There  was  no  missionary  society  organized.  William 
Taylor  secured  and  sent  out  the  missionaries.  He  raised 


56     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

the  money  and  paid  for  outgoing  passages  and  to  some 
small  extent  aided  in  the  most  necessary  expenses.  He 
had  to  depend  for  funds  on  the  sale  of  his  books,  and 
upon  personal  gifts  which  he  solicited  from  friends  and 
the  public  where  he  gave  addresses.  With  difficulty  was 
he  able  to  secure  the  funds  required  to  send  the  mission- 
aries out  to  the  stations.  Had  he  failed  to  send  them 
out,  his  missions  would  have  failed  right  at  the  start. 
He  could  not  support  those  who,  broken  in  health,  had 
to  return  home. 

While  the  terrible  disasters  of  the  war  caused  havoc  to 
the  mission  stations  in  Peru  and  Bolivia,  and  sorrow  and 
suffering,  and  even  death  to  some  of  the  faithful  mes- 
sengers of  the  cross,  those  in  the  south  were  not  free 
from  difficulties. 

The  Rev.  Charles  H.  Hoffman,  who  had  undertaken 
to  labor  among  the  Germans  at  Valdivia,  soon  found  that 
they  were  irreligious.  With  rare  exceptions  they  did 
not  care  to  have  anything  to  do  with  church  services  and 
they  scorned  his  efforts  to  bring  them  to  Christ.  Many 
of  them  were  nominally  Lutherans,  who  looked  down 
upon  him  as  not  being  a  properly  trained  nor  properly 
ordained  minister.  They  considered  him  a  fanatic.  Fail- 
ing in  Valdivia,  he  went  to  Puerto  Montt,  and  soon  after 
joined  Barchwitz-Krauser  in  work  at  Osorno  and  among 
the  German  colonists  around  Lake  Llanquihue,  where 
Von  Barchwitz-Krauser  had  won  friends  and  had  mar- 
ried the  daughter  of  one  of  the  colonists.  But  the  colo- 
nists were  poor,  and  few  of  them  were  ready  to  listen 
to  the  message  or  help  support  the  messenger.  A  small 
school  was  started,  from  which  a  little  support  was  se- 
cured. Brothers  Hoffman  and  Barchwitz  gathered  the 
colonists  in  homes  here  and  there  around  the  shores  of 
the  lake  for  Sunday  school  and  preaching,  and  passed 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  57 

on  horseback  from  farm  to  farm  visiting  the  people. 
Soon  after  Barchwitz  left  the  work  around  the  lake  to 
Hoffman  and  went  to  Osorno.  There  he  won  friends 
and  several  were  converted,  though  others  strongly  op- 
posed. The  Rev.  Dr.  Trumbull  raised  some  money  in 
Valparaiso  and  sent  it  to  them;  otherwise  they  could 
not  have  lived  there. 

It  is  remarkable  that  in  the  midst  of  all  the  difficul- 
ties, the  suffering,  the  lack  of  proper  support,  the  pain 
of  seeing  the  work  which  they  had  begun  destroyed,  and 
the  death  of  some,  not  one  of  the  missionaries  lost  faith, 
became  discouraged  and  abandoned  the  work,  except 
Mrs.  Magnus  Smith,  whose  situation  after  the  death  of 
her  husband  compelled  her  to  leave,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Stowell.  Mr.  Stowell  took  his  wife  home  to  die;  but 
afterward  returned.  And,  fortunately,  notwithstanding 
the  war,  the  missionaries  were  able  to  continue  the 
church  and  school  work  at  Copiapo,  the  church  work  at 
Coquimbo,  the  Bethel  work  at  Valparaiso,  the  church 
and  school  work  at  Santiago,  the  school  work  at  Con- 
cepcion,  and  work  among  the  Germans  in  the  South.  The 
missionaries  who  were  driven  out  of  one  station  went  to 
another,  or  started  a  new  work. 

THE   YEAR    1880 — THE   CONFERENCE 

January  22,  1880,  the  members  of  the  Taylor  Mis- 
sion met  together  in  conference  at  Santiago.  There 
were  present  Professor  Wright  and  Miss  Lelia  Water- 
house,  of  Concepcion;  Lucius  C.  Smith  and  Mrs.  Vas- 
binder,  of  Copiapo;  Mr.  Ira  H.  LaFetra,  of  Santiago; 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jeffrey,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Collier  and  Von 
Barchwitz-Krauser,  of  Valparaiso.  A  report  written  by 
Ira  H.  LaFetra  was  published,  from  which  I  take  the 
following:  "It  was  a  blessed  time  and  every  heart  was 


58     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

strengthened  by  words  of  cheer  and  faith,  and  the  recital 
of  trials  and  victories.  We  came  here  without  anyone  to 
look  after  us,  and  have  been  working  as  best  we  could. 
The  Lord  has  wonderfully  guided  us  and  enabled  us  to 
organize  our  work  so  that  it  really  begins  to  take  perma- 
nent shape.  Rev.  Ira  H.  LaFetra  was  elected  president 
of  the  Conference,  and  also  chairman  of  the  Executive 
Committee  to  look  after  the  work  during  the  year.  In 
a  couple  of  weeks  he  is  to  visit  the  south  about  500  miles, 
to  see  what  can  be  done  toward  working  up  new  fields 
for  teachers  and  preachers.  It  is  the  unanimous  feeling 
among  the  workers  that  God  sent  us  here  to  stay,  and 
that  our  work  is  to  take  Chile  for  Christ." 

The  appointing  of  Krauser  to  the  Bethel  work  at 
Valparaiso  left  Hoffman  alone  for  the  work  among  the 
Germans  in  the  south.  Another  change  was  that  of  the 
Rev.  J.  W.  Collier.  His  poor  health  and  the  difficulties 
placed  in  his  way  by  the  Lota  Company,  which  was  all 
powerful  and  held  him  bound,  as  he  says,  like  Prome- 
theus, led  to  his  leaving  Lota  for  Valparaiso.  There  he 
was  given  the  important  position  of  supply  pastor  to  the 
Union  Church  during  the  absence  of  Dr.  Trumbull  in 
the  States. 

On  December  9,  1879,  Mr.  Collier  was  married  to  Miss 
Matthews,  a  fine  girl  from  an  excellent  Christian  family 
of  Lota.  Brother  Higgins  wrote  of  Collier  as  doing 
good  work  at  Valparaiso,  though  he  was  in  poor  health. 

About  seven  months  after  the  death  of  his  wife  the 
Rev.  A.  P.  Stow^ll  again  sailed  for  South  America, 
arriving  at  Copiapo  May  29,  1880.  He  came  expecting 
that  Mrs.  Vasbinder  had  gone  to  teach  in  the  new  school 
that  was  to  have  been  started  at  Santiago.  Instead  she 
had  remained  at  Copiapo,  and  the  Rev.  Lucius  Smith  was 
there.  The  school  was  small,  there  being  only  twenty- 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  59 

five  pupils.  The  government  had  established  free  public 
schools,  hence  there  was  no  work  for  Mr.  Stowell.  Dis- 
heartened, he  left  for  the  States  August  18,  taking  pas- 
sage on  a  sailing  vessel. 

Santiago,  the  capital  of  Chile,  was  a  city  of  potent 
influence  on  the  west  coast.  At  that  center  of  power 
and  influence — political,  financial,  social,  and  ecclesias- 
tical— of  the  hierarchy  of  Rome,  with  no  funds,  but  with 
audacious  faith,  Taylor's  little  band  planned  to  establish 
a  school  as  a  center  of  light  and  righteousness  for  the 
bringing  in  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  As  arranged  by 
the  Conference,  it  was  expected  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wright 
would  take  charge  of  the  new  school,  but  the  illness  of 
Mrs.  Wright  caused  her  to  leave  for  the  States  about 
the  first  of  March,  Mr.  Wright  following  in  May.  The 
school,  therefore,  could  not  be  started  as  planned.  De- 
layed though  the  project  was,  still  it  was  to  be  accom- 
plished, and  before  the  year  ended  the  school  was  opened. 
Two  things  worked  to  that  end,  namely,  a  change  which 
had  to  be  made  on  the  field  and  aid  given  by  William 
Taylor,  who  was  at  home. 

Though  the  war  was  raging  fiercely  in  the  province  of 
Tacna,  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher  Humphrey  were  un- 
willing to  abandon  the  work  they  had  so  bravely  taken 
up  and  successfully  pushed  forward  after  the  sickness 
of  Brother  Stowell  and  the  death  of  his  wife  had  caused 
the  work  to  be  abandoned.  But  the  government  had 
taken  their  school  building  and  used  it  for  soldiers'  bar- 
racks. The  furniture  was  packed  away,  and  it  was  im- 
possible to  continue  the  work.  Reluctantly  they  left 
Tacna  and  went  to  Santiago.  Thus  they  became  avail- 
able for  starting  the  school  there.  With  the  aid  of 
LaFetra  steps  were  taken  to  that  end.  The  desire  was 
to  establish  a  school  for  both  boys  and  girls. 


60     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

MR.  TAYLOR  FINDS  A  GREAT  TEACHER 

William  Taylor  speaks  of  the  founding  of  schools  as 
"a  blessed  work:  laying  tracks  for  mighty  energies  to 
bless  the  race.  These  schools  are  to  educate  the  young 
people  not  only  in  the  arts  and  sciences  of  civilization, 
but  also  to  lay  deep  foundations  for  a  broader  and  holier 
work — the  conversion  and  salvation  of  the  Latin  races. 
Education  is  only  the  entering  wedge.  Bibles,  teachers, 
preachers,  churches,  circuits,  conferences  are  to  follow 
in  the  order  of  God's  providences." 

He  realized  the  importance  of  a  school  in  such  a  cen- 
ter as  Santiago  and  sought  to  found  one  adequate  for 
such  an  opportunity.  He  visited  Mount  Allison  Semi- 
nary at  Sackville,  New  Brunswick.  The  institution  was 
in  the  full  tide  of  prosperity.  There  had  been  a  gracious 
revival,  and  many  of  the  young  ladies  had  been  con- 
verted. Miss  Adelaide  Whitefield  was  the  preceptress. 
She  was  born  near  Ransomville,  New  York,  and  grew 
into  beautiful  girlhood  surrounded  by  the  advantages  of 
a  consecrated  Christian  home.  Educated  at  Wilson  Acad- 
emy and  at  Houghton  Seminary,  where  she  was  gradu- 
ated in  1868,  she  remained  there  as  instructor  for  three 
years,  then  became  a  member  of  the  faculty  of  Lasell 
Seminary,  at  Auburndale,  Massachusetts.  From  there 
she  went  to  Mount  Allison  as  preceptress.  William 
Taylor  visited  the  seminary  and  asked  her  to  go  out  to 
Santiago  to  found  a  school  for  young  ladies.  With  her 
splendid  preparation  and  spiritual  gifts  she  seemed  indis- 
pensable to  Mount  Allison  Seminary.  The  trustees  were 
unwilling  to  give  her  up,  but  she  felt  called  to  go.  Re- 
luctantly they  agreed  to  release  her  for  two  years.  Soon 
afterward  she  sailed,  taking  with  her  a  good  teacher, 
Miss  Lizzie  Kipp,  and  a  trained  kindergarten  teacher, 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  61 

Miss  Rosina  Kinsman.  For  her  and  her  companions  it 
was  a  marvelous  venture  of  faith.  Where  has  it  a  par- 
allel? Three  ladies,  comparatively  unknown  persons, 
without  funds,  without  any  missionary  society  to  sus- 
tain them,  without  a  knowledge  of  the  language,  to  enter 
a  foreign  land  where  the  strong  social  currents  and  the 
dominant  intensely  hostile  church  were  bitterly  opposed 
and  expect  to  establish  there  a  high-grade  boarding  and 
day  school  for  young  ladies,  covering  the  expenses  with 
the  current  income ! 

They  arrived  at  Santiago  September  n,  1880.  For- 
tunately, Ira  H.  LaFetra  had  been  laboring  there  about 
a  year,  and  had  formed  many  friends.  By  their  aid  and 
through  his  splendid  business  ability  he  was  able  to  make 
arrangements  for  opening  a  school  on  October  I  in  a 
rented  house  situated  in  Vergara  Street,  No.  17.  Hand- 
bills announcing  the  opening  of  the  school  gave  the 
following : 

BOARD  OF  INSTRUCTION 

Mr.  Fletcher  Humphrey,  Director, 

English  Language  and  Natural  Sciences. 
Miss  Adelaide  Whitefield,  Preceptress, 

Latin  and  Mathematics. 
Mrs.  Mary  D.  Humphrey, 

Mental  Philosophy  and  English  Literature. 
Miss  Lizzie  Kipp, 

History,  Fine  Arts,  and  Needlework. 
Miss  Rosina  Kinsman, 

Kindergarten. 
Julio  Abelos, 

Spanish  Language  and  Literature. 
Carl  Rudolph, 

German  Language  and  Literature. 
Jules  Gomien, 

French  Language  and  Literature. 
C.  Stamm, 

Music. 


62     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

Mr.  LaFetra  had  secured  the  cooperation  of  Senator 
Benjamin  Vicuna  Mackenna,  candidate  for  the  presi- 
dency in  1876,  and  the  most  popular  author  among  Chil- 
ean men  of  letters;  the  Hon.  Thomas  A.  Osborn,  United 
States  Minister  at  Santiago ;  Senator  Adolfo  Ibanez,  for- 
mer minister  of  Chile  in  Washington;  Senor  Zenon 
Freire,  intendente  of  the  province,  and  Senor  Alejandro 
Carrasco  Albano,  official  interpreter  of  the  minister  of 
foreign  relations.  Others  gave  their  influence.  But  the 
school  year  in  Chile  closes  at  Christmas  time,  and  few 
cared  to  take  their  children  from  the  schools  in  which 
they  were  so  near  the  end  of  the  year.  The  classes  opened 
October  4  with  only  seven  scholars.  Eight  more  were 
enrolled  before  the  end  of  the  year. 

As  previously  stated,  the  loading  of  guano  at  the  Lobos 
Islands  ceased  and  the  vessels  went  away.  Left  with- 
out seamen  with  whom  to  work,  the  Gillilands  went  to 
Callao,  arriving  there  in  February.  There  was  an  Eng- 
lish clergyman  at  that  place,  but  at  Lima  there  was  none. 
Brother  Gilliland  went  to  Lima,  rented  a  house,  and 
began  working  among  the  English-speaking  people  by 
personal  visitation  and  public  services.  The  services 
were  held  in  the  Odd  Fellows'  Hall,  which  was  offered  to 
him  free  of  charge ;  but  on  account  of  the  war  the  condi- 
tions there  became  so  trying  that  near  the  end  of  the 
year  the  Gillilands  gave  up  that  work  and  went  to 
Copiapo. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  year  1880  the  Rev.  J.  G.  Price 
organized  a  mission  at  Guayaquil,  Ecuador,  supporting 
himself  by  private  teaching. 

The  conditions  under  which  the  work  had  to  be  done 
in  the  different  stations,  especially  in  the  schools,  were 
much  the  same.  A  picture  of  how  work  was  done  at 
Concepcion  will  serve  for  the  other  places. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  63 

It  was  found  that  uniting  together  the  boys  and  girls 
in  the  same  school  was  a  great  drawback.  The  custom 
of  the  country,  the  ideas  of  the  parents,  and  the  training 
or  lack  of  training  which  the  children  had  had,  made  it 
difficult.  At  Concepcion  it  was  deemed  best  to  make  a 
separate  school  for  the  girls.  Another  house  was  rented, 
and  Miss  Lelia  Waterhouse  took  charge  of  the  separate 
school  for  girls,  which  was  called  Colegio  Americano 
para  Senoritas,  and  later  known  as  Concepcion  College, 
and  thus  Concepcion  College  was  founded.  The  school 
opened  a  kindergarten  department  which  received  little 
boys  also.  The  school  started  with  ten  boys  and  nine 
girls.  In  the  boarding  department  there  were  six  girls. 
Two  of  them  were  from  a  British  family,  a  home  of  pov- 
erty through  the  curse  of  drink ;  the  other  four,  two  each, 
were  from  the  homes  of  Chilean  mothers,  widows  of 
Americans.  All  these  were  able  to  pay  little  or  nothing, 
and  Miss  Waterhouse  at  great  personal  sacrifice  main- 
tained them  in  order  that  she  might  have  pupils  for  her 
school.  Of  those  six  five  were  converted  and  three  have 
rendered  splendid  service  through  teaching  in  the  schools 
of  the  Mission  and  in  other  schools. 

Tremendous  sacrifice  went  into  that  work.  Often 
there  was  a  lack  of  suitable  textbooks,  and  the  delay  in 
securing  them  from  the  States  was  so  great  that  at  times 
day  after  day  from  the  one  book  on  hand  the  lesson  was 
copied  on  the  blackboard  for  the  use  of  the  children.  As 
the  American  textbooks  on  geography  and  history  gave 
so  much  concerning  the  United  States,  and  so  very,  very 
little  about  Chile,  the  teaching  according  to  the  textbook 
was  displeasing  to  the  patrons  of  the  schools.  To  avoid 
this  difficulty  Miss  Waterhouse  compiled  texts  on  his- 
tory and  geography  for  use  in  the  Concepcion  schools. 
A  textbook  was  also  prepared  for  the  use  of  the  pupils  in 


64     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

learning  English.    A  somewhat  similar  plan  was  followed 
in  the  other  schools. 

The  houses  rented  were  unsuitable  in  structure  and 
often  inadequate  in  room  space.  They  were  not  prop- 
erly furnished.  Miss  Waterhouse  tells  how  the  children 
had  to  be  marched  twice  a  day  into  the  dining  room  when 
they  had  work  which  required  a  writing  desk,  and  how 
in  the  recitation  rooms  they  sat  upon  boxes,  stools,  and 
little  chairs.  From  the  correspondence  of  another  teacher 
the  following  is  taken : 

Another  serious  drawback  was  that  often  the  missionary 
teacher  was  not  able  to  use  the  Spanish  language.  Untidiness, 
carelessness  in  regard  to  personal  cleanliness  and  in  the  treat- 
ment of  bad  humors,  and  also  disorderly  conduct  characterized 
the  children  in  many  of  the  Chilean  schools.  To  preserve  good 
discipline  and  not  lose  the  pupil  by  offending  the  parents  was  a 
task  sometimes  too  difficult  for  the  teachers.  A  pupil  lost  was 
income  lost,  and  without  income  the  school  could  not  live. 

THE  PERSONAL  HARDSHIP  AND  SUFFERING  OF  TEACHERS 

The  writer  is  fortunate  in  having  a  fairly  full  personal 
correspondence  of  Miss  Lelia  A.  Waterhouse,  telling  of 
those  early  days.  Doubtless  if  he  had  that  of  other  mis- 
sionaries, equally  interesting  data  could  be  taken.  Look 
for  a  moment  at  lier  few  years  of  work.  First,  much  of 
the  teaching  had  to  be  done  in  the  Spanish  language, 
which  made  it  more  difficult.  She  was  teacher  of  calis- 
thenics and  vocal  music  in  the  different  departments  of 
both  schools,  and  she  had  also  to  oversee  the  housekeep- 
ing. For  the  year's  hard  work  in  those  departments  she 
received  twenty  pesos  and  her  board  (probably  about 
$15).  For  personal  expenses  she  depended  on  private 
lessons  in  music,  given  mostly  out  of  school  hours.  She 
said  that,  in  the  circumstances,  there  was  no  other  way 
to  get  the  school  founded.  How  she  was  able  to  maintain 


AIRS.  IDA  TAGGARD  ARMS 

Four  years  Preceptress  of  the  "Colegio  Americano,"  the  Methodist 
school  for  boys  at  Concepcion,  Chile,  and  twenty-three  years  Pre- 
ceptress in  charge  of  Concepcion  College,  the  Methodist  school  for 
girls  at  Concepcion,  Chile. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  65 

herself  and  those  girls  whom  she  boarded  is  incompre- 
hensible. Years  after  she  spoke  with  joy  of  the  fact  that 
the  school  had  never  missed  a  day  since  its  birth,  adding : 

I  toiled  for  love  of  the  boys'  school  as  ardently  as  I  did  for 
the  girls.  In  times  of  crisis  and  suspense,  when  it  seemed  as 
though  we  should  lose  all  our  patronage,  I  threw  myself  into 
every  gap,  and  coached  teachers,  did  their  translating  for  them, 
took  many  recitations  myself,  and  did  much  blackboard  work. 
The  studies  which  I  arranged  were  used  in  all  departments.  The 
making  of  the  monthly  school  reports  for  the  parents,  and  the 
preparing  for  the  public  the  school  entertainments  required  work 
till  long  after  midnight. 

Other  conditions  were  unfortunate.  The  following 
description  is  taken  from  correspondence : 

My  room  had  no  windows.  There  were  doors  on  the  oppo- 
site sides  which  had  ground  glass  in  the  upper  halves.  One 
opened  into  a  hall  with  a  window  and  the  other  into  the  upper 
corridor,  and  it  had  to  be  kept  closed  and  locked  at  night.  The 
room  was  so  damp  that  the  paper  molded  and  fell  from  the  walls, 
and  my  mattress  was  wet  through  with  dampness.  By  wearing 
my  heavy  coat  from  the  time  I  was  dressed  till  I  undressed 
again,  and  by  walking  the  floor,  I  managed  to  live  through  the 
cold  winter,  though  I  suffered  many  attacks  of  muscular  rheu- 
matism and  attacks  of  pleurisy.  At  times  I  had  to  go  hungry, 
the  food  was  so  limited  and  so  poor  in  quality. 

It  is  not  strange  that  at  the  end  of  four  and  a  half 
years  that  teacher  had  to  go  home  with  health  so  broken 
that  never  afterward  was  it  regained. 

Any  direct  effort  to  overthrow  the  errors  of  Romanism 
and  to  teach  the  evangelical  faith  would  have  aroused 
most  bitter  antagonism.  The  only  thing  that  would  have 
been  accomplished  would  have  been  the  closing  of  the 
school.  But  there  were  other  ways  to  work.  Courtesy 
was  carefully  taught.  Honor,  truthfulness,  and  purity 
were  kept  constantly  before  the  pupils  as  ideals  which 


66     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

they  must  endeavor  to  reach.  In  a  country  where,  from 
the  highest  to  the  lowest,  the  priest,  the  religious  devotee, 
and  the  infidel  do  not  consider  the  speaking  of  the  truth 
as  necessary,  excusing  any  lie  on  the  ground  of  necessity, 
it  is  no  wonder  that  the  children  would  have  no  concep- 
tion of  the  necessity  of  speaking  the  truth.  Though  the 
conditions  made  it  impossible  to  teach  the  Bible  directly 
in  the  schools,  the  teachers  whose  hearts  prompted  them 
found  ways  to  teach.  Miss  Waterhouse  tells  how  she 
managed : 

One  blackboard  in  each  of  the  main  school  rooms  I  kept  for 
"General  Exercises."  Upon  this  I  always  had  a  passage  of 
Scripture,  credited  to  its  author  (St.  Peter,  St.  John,  Jesus, 
Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus,  David,  etc.),  and  beneath  this  I  had 
a  stanza  of  a  hymn  or  sacred  song.  Beneath  that  was  a  quota- 
tion from  some  poet. 

Each  pupil  was  required  to  commit  the  selections  to  memory, 
translate  them  into  Spanish ;  and  one  hour  each  week  was 
devoted  to  examinations  upon  them.  Credit  marks  were  given 
as  in  other  studies.  I  arranged  the  Lord's  Prayer  as  a  chant, 
and  that  was  used  as  an  opening  exercise  in  all  the  rooms.  The 
children  were  taught  to  bow  their  heads,  clasp  their  hands,  and 
sing  softly.  I  arranged  also  "El  Padre  Nuestro"  (The  Lord's 
Prayer  in  Spanish)  for  them  to  sing,  which  greatly  pleased 
their  devout  mamas.  I  gathered  the  girls  who  were  forbidden  to 
attend  Protestant  services,  both  boarders  and  outsiders,  into  a 
schoolroom  on  Saturday  afternoons,  where  I  would  have  the 
parables  of  Jesus  and  incidents  in  his  life  written  on  the  black- 
board for  them  to  copy  into  blank  books  to  take  home  to  read 
to  their  mamas.  These  interviews  were  called  little  "visitas" 
with  me.  The  girls  learned  sweet  Spanish  hymns.  After  the 
study  I  would  invite  them  to  my  room,  show  them  pictures, 
perhaps  read  to  them  a  simple  English  story,  and  treat  them  to 
some  fruits  and  cakes.  .  .  .  During  the  study  hour  in  the  eve- 
ning, with  restless  ones  at  their  tasks  all  about  me,  I  wrote  "The 
Story  of  the  Soul  of  a  Child"  as  a  school  exercise,  to  see  if  I 
could  cure  the  children  of  lying  and  give  to  them  a  little  idea  of 
moral  responsibility.  T?y  writing  it  in  the  form  of  an  allegory 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  67 

I  did  not  antagonize  the  prevailing  religion.  The  story  was 
anticipated  each  day  with  interest.  It  was  translated  and  pub- 
lished as  a  serial  in  a  Spanish  church  paper,  and  the  native 
women,  so  ignorant  and  bound  down  by  superstition,  read  it  as 
eagerly  as  the  children. 

[That  story  was  afterward  published  in  book  form  in 
Spanish  and  several  other  languages,  and  for  years  has 
been  used  in  schools  and  churches  in  several  countries. 
A  few  years  ago  Miss  Waterhouse  received  a  copy  of  it 
translated  into  Japanese.] 

Other  missionaries  did  somewhat  the  same  as  Miss 
Waterhouse  in  trying  to  teach  the  children.  One  of  the 
books  prepared  by  Ira  H.  LaFetra  was  entitled  Duty. 
It  was  used  as  a  textbook  in  the  schools.  Graded  read- 
ing books  in  English,  Metodo  Ingles,  for  teaching  Eng- 
lish, and  other  books  were  prepared  which  taught  moral 
and  religious  truths. 

I  quote  further  from  Miss  Waterhouse:  "We  held 
family  prayers  in  English  in  the  morning  and  in  Spanish 
in  the  evening.  If  fond  mothers  ordered  that  their  chil- 
dren should  not  attend  any  of  our  devotional  exercises, 
we  cheerfully  excused  them.  The  sound  of  the  hymns 
sung  and  the  reports  of  the  other  pupils  always  led  the 
children  to  beg  permission  of  the  parents  to  attend 
prayers,  and  in  every  instance  permission  was  given.  I 
called  the  servants  and  had  them  sit  by  me  for  prayers  in 
Spanish."  The  writer  can  testify  that  thirty  years  after, 
Sofia  Contreras,  one  of  those  servants,  was  still  a  most 
faithful  and  active  Christian. 

I  have  treated  at  some  length  this  matter  of  the  indirect 
teaching  in  the  schools  when  direct  teaching  could  not  be 
done,  to  show  that  missionary  work  is  done  in  connection 
with  school  work.  Too  many  were  inclined  to  think 
that  school  work  is  not  missionary  work,  and  that  with- 


68     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

out  church  services  and  a  minister  no  missionary  work 
was  really  done.  During  the  earlier  years  of  its  history 
the  William  Taylor  Mission  was  severely  criticized  as 
being  a  school  work  and  not  a  missionary  work,  so  few 
of  the  missionaries  were  then  in  evangelistic  work.  I  will 
add  further  testimony  as  to  the  results  of  work.  Being 
engaged  in  educational  work,  and  at  the  same  time  active 
in  temperance  work,  I  came  early  into  personal  relations 
with  Dr.  Carlos  Fernandez  Pena.  For  several  years  he 
was  the  president  of  the  National  Teachers'  Association 
of  Chile,  and  he  is  a  most  enthusiastic  and  energetic  tem- 
perance propagandist,  the  leading  man  in  Chile  for  tem- 
perance. In  conversation  with  him  I  was  astonished  to 
learn  of  his  knowledge  of  schools  in  the  United  States 
and  Europe.  He  was  a  subscriber  to  the  very  best  educa- 
tional magazines  and  was  familiar  with  the  latest  ideas 
in  pedagogy.  In  Chile,  except  in  the  convent  schools,  the 
current  of  sentiment  among  the  teachers,  except  some  of 
the  female  teachers  in  the  primary  schools,  is  strong 
against  the  teaching  of  religion.  Most  of  the  teachers 
scoff  at  religion,  and  even  the  teaching  of  morals  is  neg- 
lected. The  one  voice  that  rang  out  strong,  proclaiming 
that  a  secular  education  is  not  sufficient,  that  the  prin- 
ciples of  righteousness  must  be  taught  and  that  a  good 
moral  character  must  be  formed,  was  the  voice  of  Carlos 
Fernandez  Pena.  He  is  the  strong  man  among  the  Chil- 
eans who  saw  the  evils  of  intemperance  and  became  an 
active  propagandist  and  organizer  to  save  Chile  from  the 
fearful  effects  of  alcoholism.  One  day  in  a  visit  to  our 
school  in  Concepcion,  where  his  education  began  in  the 
kindergarten,  he  told  Mrs.  Arms  and  myself  that  all  his 
desires  for  reforms,  and  his  zeal  to  labor  for  them,  he 
received  from  his  teacher,  Miss  Lelia  Waterhouse.  She 
was  in  Chile  only  four  and  a  half  years,  and  part  of  that 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  69 

time  he  was  her  pupil.     But  he  had  carried  on  a  corre- 
spondence with  her  after  leaving  school. 

Of  the  many  testimonies  which  might  be  cited,  not  to 
occupy  more  space,  only  the  following  will  be  given:  A 
young  doctor,  Arturo  Carvajal,  was  aiding  the  physician 
who  was  operating  upon  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lowe,  a  Presby- 
terian missionary  in  Santiago.  Dr.  W.  E.  Browning,  then 
president  of  Institute  Ingles,  the  large  Presbyterian  Mis- 
sion School  in  Santiago,  was  present.  The  young  doctor 
said  to  him,  "I  have  forgotten  about  all  my  English,  but 
I  have  not  forgotten  the  religious  teaching  which  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Arms  taught  me  when  I  was  a  student  in  their 
school  in  Concepcion." 


70     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

CHAPTER  V 
EVENTS  OF  1881-1883 

MISSION  CONFERENCE 

By  means  of  extracts  taken  from  a  Hand  Book  written 
in  1881  by  Miss  Lelia  Waterhouse  we  learn  the  following 
concerning  the  Mission  Conference  which  was  held : 

On  January  14,  1881,  the  first  regular  session  of  the  Confer- 
ence convened  at  the  College  at  Santiago.  The  Rev.  Ira  H. 
LaFetra,  the  president  of  the  former  Conference,  called  the  Con- 
ference to  order,  The  Rev.  J.  P.  Gilliland  acting  as  secretary 
pro  tern.  The  roll  was  called  and  eight  responded.  Devotional 
exercises  were  led  by  Brother  Jeffrey.  The  following  new  mem- 
bers were  enrolled :  Adelaide  Whitefield,  Lizzi  Kipp,  Rosina 
Kinsman,  and  J.  H.  Schiverly.  The  meeting  adjourned  at  10:35 
to  meet  at  i  p.  M. 

AFTERNOON     SESSION 

Devotional  exercises  were  led  by  Brother  Krauser. 

The  Conference  organized  by  electing  the  following  officers: 

President,   the  Rev.   Ira   H.   LaFetra — unanimously   reelected. 

J.  H.  Schiverly,  Secretary. 

The  Rev.  A.  T.  Jeffrey,  Treasurer. 

Reports  from  stations  were  given : 

Guayaquil.  Private  teaching  when  the  teacher  knows  Spanish. 
(Note. — Probably  reported  by  letter  from  Mr.  Price.) 

Lobos  Islands  and  Lima.    Reported  by  Gilliland. 

Tacna.  Humphrey  reported.  Schoolhouse  now  used  as  sol- 
diers' barracks.  School  books  and  furniture  are  stored  in  a 
neighboring  house  through  the  kindness  of  a  friend. 

Iquique.  Reported  by  Gilliland.  Nothing  has  been  done  dur- 
ing the  year.  The  school  furniture  belongs  to  the  people.  Much 
of  it  was  destroyed  by  the  fire.  No  prospect  for  work. 

Tocapilla.  Gilliland  reported.  The  240  Cornish  men  there 
need  a  man  of  faith. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  71 

Antofagasta.  Jeffrey  reported.  Nothing  is  being  done.  The 
school  furniture  is  still  there. 

Taltal.  Jeffrey  reported.  The  saltpeter  works  are  improving 
constantly.  A  teacher  is  needed  there. 

Copiapo.    Was  reported  by  letter  from  Mrs.  Vasbinder. 

Caldera.     Teacher  needed. 

Coquimbo.     (Nothing  entered.) 

Valparaiso.  The  work  among  seamen  was  reported  by  Krau- 
ser,  and  that  there  is  need  of  a  Sunday  school  or  of  Bible 
meetings. 

SESSION  OF  JANUARY   15 

Devotional  exercises  were  led  by  Miss  Lelia  H.  Waterhouse. 
Reports  continued  : 

Valparaiso  and  Santiago.    Reported  by  I.  H.  LaFetra. 
Conception.    Reported  by  A.  T.  Jeffrey. 
Conference  adjourned  till  Monday. 

On  Sunday  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Gilliland  preached  at  u  o'clock. 
Evening   service :   addresses   by   Brothers   Krauser,    Schiverly, 
Gilliland,  and  LaFetra. 

SESSION    OF    JANUARY    \"J 

Devotional  exercises  led  by  J.  H.  Schiverly. 

Concepcion  discussed. 

Lota.    Reported  by  Edith  Collier. 

Llanquihue  and  all  the  southern  German  work  fully  discussed. 

Humphrey,  Gilliland,  and  Miss  L.  H.  Waterhouse  were  ap- 
pointed a  committee  for  preparing  the  Sunday  school  work  for 
the  year. 

Mr.  LaFetra  reported  Santiago  College. 

Committee  work,  the  business  affairs  of  the  Mission,  and 
religious  services  occupied  the  Conference  till  January  20. 

A  committee  consisting  of  I.  H.  LaFetra,  A.  T.  Jeffrey,  and 
Miss  L.  H.  Waterhouse  prepared  the  following  Conference 
Address: 

The  Rev.  William  Taylor. 

Beloved  Father  and  Brother  in  Christ:  The  Association  of 
ministers  and  Christian  teachers  sent  by  you  to  this  coast  desire, 
through  you,  to  give  to  the  church  at  home  a  careful  statement 
of  our  work  and  the  field  as  it  appears  to  us  after  two  years  and 
a  half  of  labor.  The  plan  for  the  work,  as  we  have  understood 


72     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

it,  is  to  establish  Christian  schools  and  preaching  stations  at  as 
many  points  along  the  coast  as  will  sustain  self-supporting  work. 

Work  of  this  kind  has  been  taken  up  at  fifteen  different  points, 
including  those  opened  by  yourself,  namely:  Aspinwall  (Colon), 
Guayaquil  Lobos  Islands,  Lima,  Mollendo,  Tacna,  Iquique,  Anto- 
fagasta,  Copiapo,  Coquimbo,  Valparaiso,  Santiago,  Concepcion, 
Lota,  and  Lake  Llanquihue.  Thirty-three  Christian  men  and 
women  in  all  have  been  appointed  and  sent  to  these  stations  by 
you.  Three  brethren  have  married  ladies  on  the  coast,  who  also 
have  become  members  of  our  Association. 

Of  this  number,  three,  Rev.  Magnus  Smith,  at  Mollendo,  Rev. 
Melville  Birdsall  at  Aspinwall,  and  Mrs.  Lucius  Smith,  at  Copiapo, 
have  died  in  the  field. 

Seven  of  our  members  have  returned  to  the  States :  Mrs. 
Birdsall  from  Aspinwall  and  Mrs.  Smith  from  Mollendo,  on 
account  of  the  death  of  their  husbands.  Mrs.  Birdsall  has  again 
entered  missionary  work  and  is  teaching  in  India.  Mr.  Price, 
from  Guayaquil,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wright  from  Concepcion,  and 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stowell,  from  Tacna,  returned  to  the  States  on 
account  of  ill  health.  Mrs.  Stowell  died  soon  after  reaching  the 
States.  The  remaining  twenty-six  members  of  the  Association 
are  in  the  field. 

The  work  at  the  stations  in  Peru  and  Bolivia  has  been  broken 
up  by  the  war  on  the  coast,  but  the  workers  have  found  open- 
ings in  Chile.  Great  obstacles  have  been  encountered.  Besides 
the  breaking  up  of  so  many  stations,  the  favorable  prospects  of 
others  have  been  greatly  changed  by  the  departure  of  many 
foreign  residents  and  the  commercial  depression  caused  by  the 
war.  We  can  but  regret  that  so  much  earnest  and  self-sacrific- 
ing labor  as  has  been  put  forth  by  our  brethren  in  the  northern 
stations  should  be  laid  waste. 

The  Association  at  present  occupies  seven  central  stations,  at 
four  of  which  there  are  schools  employing  fifteen  teachers. 
Six  ministers,  including  the  seamen's  chaplain  at  Valparaiso,  are 
supported  in  wholly  religious  work.  A  large  number  of  outly- 
ing points  are  visited  statedly  by  the  pastors  and  teachers.  Sun- 
day schools  are  sustained  in  all  of  them.  A  number  of  other 
important  places  can  be  opened  for  schools  and  religious  work 
as  soon  as  they  can  be  visited  and  the  people  interested.  The 
probable  early  close  of  the  war  will  enable  us  to  reoccupy  the 
stations  at  the  north  which  have  been  suspended. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  73 

"The  South  American  Advocate"  which  will  be  started  soon, 
will  supply  a  want  very  much  felt  on  the  coast  for  a  family 
paper,  and  will  enable  us  to  keep  our  work  before  the  people. 
The  press  and  other  materials  donated  by  the  friends  at  home, 
while  not  adequate  for  the  needs,  will  serve  to  begin  the  enter- 
prise. The  results  of  the  religious  work  have  been  encourag- 
ing. Many  have  become  interested  in  personal  salvation  and 
some  have  been  brought  to  Christ.  The  schools  have  done  an 
important  work  in  Christian  education  and  are  laying  the  foun- 
dations for  more  direct  church  work. 

The  religious  work  necessarily  is  supported  almost  wholly  by 
the  English-speaking  people,  and  the  schools  are  sustained  to 
some  extent  by  them.  Only  those  points  which  have  a  sufficiently 
large  English  community  can  be  opened  on  our  plan  of  self- 
support. 

Our  work  will  increase  very  many  times  beyond  what  it  is  at 
present,  but  we  cannot  take  up  all  the  work  that  needs  to  be 
done.  None  of  our  ministers  can  be  sustained  while  devoting 
any  considerable  part  of  their  time  to  native  preaching,  and  the 
necessarily  high  rates  of  tuition  in  our  schools  exclude  all  but 
the  more  wealthy.  There  are  between  seven  and  eight  millions 
of  people  along  the  coast.  An  important  evangelistic  work  could 
be  done  along  side  of  our  work  and  in  connection  with  it. 

It  would  be  a  mistake  for  the  church  at  home  to  receive  the 
impression  that  all  the  work  which  needs  to  be  done  in  foreign 
fields  can  be  done  by  simply  sending  missionaries  to  those  fields 
to  find  their  own  support.  A  very  large  and  important  work 
can  and  ought  to  be  done  in  this  way,  but  the  obligation  of  the 
church  to  evangelize  the  world  is  as  great  as  ever. 

The  Annual  Conference  of  the  Association,  now  in  session 
at  Santiago,  and  at  which  fourteen  members  are  present,  has 
thoroughly  and  prayerfully  considered  the  whole  field,  and  ar- 
ranged for  the  coming  year  in  the  best  way  possible.  Some  new 
fields  will  be  opened  immediately,  and  additional  men  and  women 
are  needed  at  once. 

The  members  will-  return  to  their  several  fields  with  more 
complete  consecration  and  with  renewed  determination  to  take 
the  coast  for  Christ.  We  anxiously  await  the  time  when  the 
Lord  shall  open  the  way  for  you  to  revisit  the  coast  and  per- 
sonally direct  the  work.  We  pray  earnestly  that  the  Master  may 
continue  to  preserve  your  health  and  strength,  and  enable  you 


74     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

to  carry  forward  the  great  plans  of  the  redemption  of  South 
America  from  the  error  and  darkness  and  sin  in  which  it  has 
remained  so  long. 

Affectionately, 

I.  H.  LAFETRA, 
A.  T.  JEFFREY, 
LELIA  H.  WATERHOUSE. 
Santiago,  Jan.  20,  1881. 

As  already  stated  Santiago  College  was  opened  to  the 
public  October  i,  1880,  with  departments  for  both  boys 
and  girls.  Preparations  had  been  made  for  a  large  school, 
involving  heavy  expenses.  The  rent  of  a  large  house  had 
to  be  met  and  the  salaries  of  five  American  teachers,  mis- 
sionaries, and  of  four  supply  teachers,  men  secured  in  the 
city.  Yet  notwithstanding  all  the  great  preparations  and 
the  advertising,  only  fifteen  scholars  were  matriculated. 
They  were  nearly  all  from  foreign  families.  The  income 
would  not  meet  one  tenth  of  the  expenses.  Could  failure 
be  ivorse!  It  would  seem  that  the  whole  project  would 
have  to  be  abandoned,  or  at  least  cut  down  to  a  very  small 
school  involving  little  expense.  But  not  so.  Ira  Haynes 
LaFetra  was  there,  the  kind  of  a  man  who  knows  no 
failure. 

Instead  of  giving  up  or  changing  to  a  very  small 
school,  plans  for  even  greater  things  were  made.  Instead 
of  one  school,  two  large  schools  independent  of  each 
other,  but  under  the  general  supervision  of  LaFetra,  were 
to  be  undertaken.  The  one,  a  large  school  for  boys  under 
the  direction  of  Fletcher  Humphrey,  advertised  a  full 
course  of  study  with  special  attention  given  to  a  practical 
business  training.  Advertised  as  an  English  school  for 
young  men,  it  offered  to  give  instruction  also  in  Spanish, 
French,  and  German. 

The  school  for  young  ladies  was  placed  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Miss  Adelaide  Whitcfield.  To  show  something 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  75 

of  the  methods  used  in  starting  the  school  and  of  how  the 
question  of  the  religious  teaching  given  in  it  was  to  be 
handled,  I  give  the  following,  taken  from  the  circular,  or 
prospectus,  which  was  sent  out : 

PLANS  FOR  THE  ESTABLISHMENT  IN  SANTIAGO  OF  A  SCHOOL  OF 

HIGH  GRADE  BASED  UNON  THE  AMERICAN   SYSTEM 

OF   EDUCATION 

At  the  solicitation  of  many  friends  of  education  in  Santiago 
and  neighboring  cities,  arrangements  have  been  made  for  the 
establishment  in  this  city  of  an  institution  of  learning  which 
will  present  facilities  for  a  thorough  education,  especially  in  the 
English  language.  For  this  purpose  the  best  features  of  col- 
legiate and  common  school  systems  of  Germany,  England,  and 
the  United  States  will  be  introduced. 

To  attain  the  most  exact  classification  and  careful  instruc- 
tion, so  as  to  secure  the  most  rapid  and  thorough  progress,  the 
school  will  be  organized  in  distinct  departments,  and  will  pre- 
sent complete  Kindergarten,  Preparatory,  and  Collegiate  courses. 
The  English  will  be  the  language  in  which  all  the  studies  of  the 
regular  courses  will  be  pursued,  but  eminently  practical  courses 
will  be  presented  in  French,  German,  and  Spanish,  and  also  in 
the  best  methods  of  instruction  in  Vocal  and  Instrumental  Music 
and  the  Fine  Arts. 

No  pains  will  be  spared  to  make  the  school  complete  in  every 
respect  and  such  as  will  command  the  approval  of  friends  of 
education. 

From  the  information  given  in  the  Prospectus  con- 
cerning the  school  I  quote  only  that  relating  to  "Religious 
Instruction" : 

It  is  the  intention  to  model  this  school  in  every  respect  accord- 
ing to  the  North-American  system.  The  system  is  the  most 
extensive  and  that  which  has  had  the  greatest  success  of  all  those 
known  in  the  civilized  world. 

One  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  this  system  is  that  the 
schools  are  to  be  free  from  the  influence  of  religious  sects. 
This  principle  does  not  exclude  the  inculcation  of  the  cardinal 
virtues  of  reverence,  piety,  devotion,  obedience,  love  of  the 
truth,  and  honor,  but  it  excludes  teaching  the  special  beliefs  and 


76 

dogmas  of  any  sect.  Nevertheless,  childhood  not  impressed  with 
the  truth  of  religion  and  of  the  obligations  of  religious  worship 
and  habits  of  devotion  will  be  born  to  a  life  of  irreverence 
and  impiety. 

In  the  United  States  the  necessity  for  special  religious  instruc- 
tion is  provided  for;  and  each  Christian  denomination  teaches 
its  own  doctrines  in  its  own  parochial  schools  or  in  Sunday 
schools.  To  meet  this  same  need  in  Chile  arrangements  have 
been  made  with  both  Catholic  and  Protestant  priests.  The  pupils 
whose  parents  desire  them  to  receive  religious  instruction,  on 
the  days  arranged  for,  will  be  accompanied  by  one  of  the  pro- 
fessors to  the  parochial  church,  and  there  receive  from  the 
authorized  teacher  regular  and  systematic  teaching  in  the  cate- 
chism which  their  parents  choose. 

In  advertising  the  opening  of  the  boys'  school  Mr. 
Humphrey  simply  announced:  "Satisfactory  arrange- 
ments have  been  made  for  the  religious  instruction  of  the 
pupils,  be  they  of  the  national  established  church  or  that 
of  the  dissenters."  The  following  year  no  announcement 
was  made  that  religious  instruction  would  be  given. 

To  give  the  public  more  confidence  in  the  schools  Mr. 
LaFetra  secured  the  indorsement  of  the  following  distin- 
guished men,  which  appeared  in  the  advertising  circular 
under  the  title  "Indorsements" : 

We,  the  undersigned,  are  glad  to  give  our  indorsement  and 
commendation  to  plans  herein  presented. 
(Signed) 

B.  VICUNA  MACKENNA. 
THOMAS  A.  OSBORN,  American  Minis- 
ter to  Chile. 
ADOLFO  IBANEZ. 
ALEJANDRO  CARRASCO  ALBANO. 
ZENON  FREIRE,  Intendente  of  the  Prov- 
ince of  Santiago. 

ISEDORO    HUNNUES. 

GENERAL  Lucius  A.  FOOTE,  Consul  of  the 

United  States  in  Valparaiso. 
DR.  FELIX  GROHNERT. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  77 

During  the  year  Mr.  Millard  F.  Lemon  and  Javier 
Yoachem  were  added  to  the  faculty  of  the  "College  for 
Young  Men,"  and  Miss  Edith  Collier  to  that  for  young 
ladies.  Later  the  Rev.  William  A.  Wright  and  Mrs. 
Wright  returned  from  the  States  and  took  up  work  in 
the  Santiago  school  for  young  men.  But,  dissatisfied 
with  conditions,  they  left  again  for  the  States  within 
a  year. 

With  the  departure  of  Miss  Edith  Collier  for  Santiago 
the  Methodist  work  at  Lota  was  closed. 

I  understand  that  a  man  who  was  brought  out  from 
Great  Britain  about  that  time  began  church  services  and 
opened  a  school  at  Lota. 

Mr.  George  M.  Jeffrey,  a  brother  of  the  Rev.  A.  T. 
Jeffrey,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  boys'  school,  arrived 
at  Concepcion  March  20,  1881.  He  was  a  good  teacher 
and  gave  splendid  aid.  On  August  I  Miss  Martha  M. 
Boyce  and  Miss  Mary  E.  Elkins  arrived.  The  schools 
thus  reenforced  became  much  better  equipped  to  take 
care  of  the  increased  number  of  pupils. 

Arrangements  were  made  later  for  the  return  of  Miss 
Potter  to  the  States.  She  had  come  out  the  previous 
year,  but  was  not  young  and  was  not  able  to  do  good 
service.  William  Taylor  was  absent  when  she  sailed. 
To  avoid  the  sending  out  of  persons  not  equipped  for 
the  work,  after  her  return  a  committee  was  appointed  in 
New  York  before  whom  all  candidates  for  the  field  had 
to  pass. 

From  reports,  it  appears  that  the  school  work  and  the 
English  church  work  at  Copiapo  went  on  as  usual,  and 
that  there  was  special  religious  interest  in  the  work 
among  Spanish-speaking  people.  Brother  Gilliland  wrote 
June  17 : 

Work  moving  on  grandly.     Am  to  have  discussions  with  the 


78     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

parish  priest.  If  he  convinces  me  I  promise  to  become  a  Cath- 
olic, and  if  I  convince  him  he  promises  to  become  a  Protestant. 
Copiapo  is  being  stirred  up.  Some  are  declaring  themselves 
Protestants  and  are  seeking  salvation.  Our  God  is  very  strong. 
Our  school  decreases ;  finances  very  low,  but  we  consider  the 
lilies.  Every  two  or  three  days  from  one  to  six  young  men 
come  to  have  private  conversations  on  religion.  Spanish .  serv- 
ices are  well  attended.  Considerable  interest  is  manifest. 

We  find  no  data  concerning  the  evangelistic  work  which 
was  being  done  among  the  English-speaking  people  at 
Santiago. 

Concerning  the  schools,  four  things  call  for  special 
attention: 

1.  By  March  I,  1882,  it  could  be  said  that  the  schools 
had  become  successfully  established.     They  had  won  the 
favor  of  the  public,  and  the  number  of  pupils  in  attend- 
ance was  satisfactory. 

2.  The  death  of  Miss  Edith  Collier.     Her  translation 
to  the  better  land  was  a  great  loss  to  Santiago  College. 
She  was  a  very  bright,  cheerful,  devout  Christian  girl. 
Brother  LaFetra  said  of  her:  "I  do  not  remember  ever 
to  have  known  so  young  a  Christian  so  free  from  all 
doubt.     Her  companionship  with  Christ  was  more  a  real 
thing  that  with  any  one  of  us.     She  never  doubted  her 
mission  but  always  rejoiced  that  she  came.     Edith  has 
lived  a  long  life  in  these  two  and  a  half  years.    The  girls 
in  her  classes  looked  to  her  as  to  one  of  their  saints.   The 
memory  of  her  sweet,  pure  life  will  never  fade  from  the 
minds  of  these  children." 

The  following  is  from  the  obituary  published,  written 
by  the  pastor  of  her  home  church  in  Maine: 

Edith  Rosctta  Collier  was  born  in  Union,  Maine,  October  27, 
1857.  She  was  converted  at  Northport  camp  meeting  when 
about  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  soon  after  was  baptized  and 
received  into  the  church.  Her  Christian  life  was  of  the  truest 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  79 

and  happiest  type.  From  her  earliest  Christian  experience  she 
ever  offered  a  cheering  smile,  a  loving  word,  and  a  kind  deed  to 
all  needing  sympathy  and  advice.  As  a  result  all  loved  her  and 
were  impressed  with  her  Christian  life.  After  being  educated 
at  East  Maine  Conference  Seminary,  she  experienced  a  special 
call  from  God  to  enter  some  field  of  Christian  labor,  hence  when 
a  call  was  made  by  William  Taylor  for  missionaries  for  South 
America  she,  with  her  only  brother,  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Collier,  now 
of  Coquimbo,  Chile,  responded  and  entered  upon  her  chosen 
work  in  November,  1878.  She  labored  with  her  wonted  zeal 
and  success  until  June  10,  1881,  when  after  a  few  days'  sickness 
from  small-pox,  she  passed  from  labor  to  rest,  from  earth  to 
the  paradise  of  her  Lord.  At  the  time  of  her  death  she  was  a 
teacher  at  Santiago.  She  leaves  a  widowed  mother,  four  sisters, 
and  one  brother.  These  mourn  but  not  as  those  who  have  no 
hope,  for  they  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again.  Even  so 
she  who  has  fallen  asleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him. 

3.  On  account  of  some  difficulties  which  arose  the  Rev. 
Fletcher  Humphrey  and  Mrs.  Humphrey  decided  to  re- 
turn to  the  United  States.     They  left  Santiago  June  28, 
1881.    Mr.  Millard  F.  Lemon  was  placed  in  charge  of  the 
Santiago  College  for  Young  Men. 

4.  At  Vina-del-Mar,  in  the  month  of  September,  the 
Rev.  Ira  Haynes  LaFetra  and  Miss  Adelaide  Whitefield 
were  married.    That  act  had  a  great  bearing  on  the  future 
destiny  of  Santiago  College,  a  school  which  won  such  dis- 
tinguished fame,  and  became  known  far  and  wide  as  the 
"LaFetra  School." 

VISIT  OF  BISHOP  HARRIS 

In  1881  Bishop  Harris  visited  the  mission  and  ordained 
eight  men  who  had  previously  been  elected  to  orders  by 
one  Conference  or  another,  under  varied  circumstances. 
He  reached  Valparaiso  on  December  13,  and  sailed  from 
that  port  on  the  2Qth  for  Talcahuano,  and  from  there  he 
sailed  for  the  east  coast.  "His  tour,"  said  the  Record, 


of  Valparaiso,  "has  been  one  of  examination  and  inspec- 
tion, to  counsel  and  confer  with  the  workers."  The  report 
which  Bishop  Harris  gave  of  the  condition  and  outlook 
of  the  mission  was  not  favorable;  but  it  should  be  borne 
in  mind  that  the  war  was  still  raging  between  Chile  and 
Peru,  and  the  country  was  suffering  under  the  disastrous 
effects  of  that  conflict. 

As  the  years  passed,  through  death,  through  sickness, 
through  the  inability  of  some  of  the  missionaries  to  adjust 
themselves  successfully  to  the  conditions  in  the  stations 
where  they  were,  vacancies  occurred  which  had  to  be 
filled,  and  transfers  to  other  stations  had  to  be  made. 
There  was  no  one  in  the  mission  authorized  to  secure  the 
new  missionaries  to  fill  the  vacancies,  nor  to  make  the 
transfers  in  the  readjustment  of  the  workers.  There  was 
need  of  some  one  duly  authorized  as  administrator,  or 
superintendent  to  fill  vacancies  and  readjust  workers,  and 
also  to  take  charge  of  the  properties  of  the  various  mis- 
sion stations.  The  person  in  charge  of  each  station  acted 
as  representative  of  the  mission  in  questions  of  property. 
But  difficulties  arose  in  that  such  frequent  changes  came 
to  the  persons  in  charge.  It  often  happened  that  the  per- 
son who  was  in  charge  left  the  country.  To  meet  this 
need,  the  missionaries  when  gathered  in  Conference  had 
agreed  that  the  person  whom  they  elected  as  the  president 
of  the  Conference  should  be  the  executive  of  the  mission 
for  the  year.  William  Taylor  had  authorized  no  one  to 
act  in  that  capacity.  But  in  view  of  the  action  of  the 
Conference,  he  wrote  to  I.  H.  LaFetra,  who  had  been 
elected  the  president  for  two  consecutive  years :  "I  will 
concur  in  the  action  of  your  Conference  in  all  things  in 
harmony  with  our  self-supporting  principles,  and  do  my 
best  to  help  you  to  carry  your  wise  counsels  into  effect. 
.  .  .  The  president  elected  by  the  Conference  for  the  year 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  81 

will  be  my  representative  in  my  absence  in  all  things  he 
can  do  in  connection  with  his  own  pastoral  charge.  The 
Holy  Spirit  must  lead  the  whole  movement  to  make  it 
a  success." 

William  Taylor  tried  to  secure  in  the  States  the  mis- 
sionaries needed  for  the  various  stations.  Complaints 
had  been  made  to  him  because  some  of  those  he  secured 
had  turned  out  great  disappointments.  He  said  in  regard 
to  it,  speaking  concerning  the  request  made  to  him  by 
Mr.  Jeffrey  for  teachers  for  Concepcion :  "They  have  not 
authorized  me  to  promise  a  cent  of  wages  besides  a  plain 
living.  Good  teachers  even  with  missionary  spirit  and 
heroic  zeal  want  some  assurance  of  a  reasonable  com- 
pensation. So  for  Concepcion  we  had  to  depend  more  on 
consecration  than  educational  qualification." 

In  1880  the  brother  and  personal  friends  of  Ira  LaFetra 
in  Washington,  desiring  to  aid  him  in  the  work  in  which 
he  was  engaged,  raised  $567  for  the  purchase  of  a  job 
press  and  a  small  outfit  of  type  and  other  requisites.  The 
outfit  was  secured  at  a  total  cost  of  $972.50  and  sent  to 
Santiago  in  1881. 

That  was  the  beginning  of  what  became  quite  an  im- 
portant department  of  the  work  of  the  mission. 

1882 — CHANGES:     TRANSFERS,     HOME-GOINGS,     AND 
REENFORCEMENTS 

After  the  Rev.  Oscar  von  Barchwitz-Krauser  had 
abandoned  the  work  in  the  south  and  had  removed  to 
Valparaiso,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hoffman  continued  laboring 
among  the  German  colonists.  Not  being  able  to  sustain 
themselves  in  the  work  around  Lake  Llanquihue  or  in 
Osorno,  they  removed  to  Puerto  Montt,  but  after  some 
months  were  obliged  to  leave  there  also.  They  went  to 


82     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

Valparaiso,  and  shortly  after  left  for  the  States.  Their 
return  expenses  were  met  by  some  of  the  missionaries 
and  by  some  friends  in  Valparaiso.  Thus  ended  the 
attempts  to  give  religious  instruction  and  aid  to  the  Ger- 
man colonists  who  were  living  in  many  cases  without 
church  privileges. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1882  the  Rev.  and  Mrs. 
Gilliland  left  Copiapo  for  Caldera,  where  they  started  a 
school,  doing  at  the  same  time  what  evangelistic  work 
they  found  possible. 

Before  the  middle  of  the  year  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Higgins 
left  for  the  States  and  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Collier,  who  had 
been  supplying  the  Union  Church  at  Valparaiso  in  the 
absence  of  Dr.  Trumbull,  took  charge  of  the  church  at 
Coquimbo.  During  the  year  Miss  Rachel  Holding  ar- 
rived and  started  a  school. 

Mr.  Lemon  left  in  March  for  California,  but  returned 
in  November,  bringing  with  him  Mr.  T.  Wolcott  LaFetra, 
a  brother  of  Ira  H.  LaFetra,  and  J.  M.  Vincent,  who  came 
from  the  Commercial  College  of  Los  Angeles,  California, 
to  take  charge  of  the  Commercial  Department  of  the 
Santiago  College  for  Young  Men. 

Miss  Nettie  Ogden  arrived  at  Concepcion  about  mid- 
year to  teach  in  the  girls'  school,  and  at  the  same  time  or 
shortly  after  Miss  Mary  E.  Elkins  arrived. 

For  some  months  the  Rev.  A.  T.  Jeffrey,  who  was  in 
charge  of  the  school  for  boys  at  Concepcion,  was  in  poor 
health.  His  physical  condition  finally  became  so  bad 
that  in  November  he  and  Mrs.  Jeffrey  went  to  Coquimbo. 
While  there,  at  the  request  of  the  committee,  he  took 
charge  of  the  church,  as  Brother  Collier  had  been  obliged 
to  give  it  up  on  account  of  poor  health.  After  a  short 
time  at  Coquimbo  the  Jeffreys  left  for  the  States. 

Early  in  the  year,  after  Mrs.  Jeffrey  had  recovered 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  83 

from  a  sickness,  he  had  written  discouragingly  about  the 
work,  its  present  condition  and  the  probability  of  making 
it  permanent.  He  wrote:  "It  seems  darker  to  me  the 
farther  we  go.  There  must  be  something  materially 
wrong  with  the  plan.  We  have  tried  to  be  as  faithful  as 
we  could,  yet  what  have  we  done?  The  work  is  as  dear 
as  life,  but  I  have  a  wife  and  two  helpless  children.  If 
I  remain  here,  it  will  be  only  to  eke  out  a  miserable  ex- 
istence. This  is  not  all:  I  shall  rejoice  when  the  Lord 
relieves  me  from  school  work  and  places  me  where  I  can 
devote  the  remainder  of  my  life  to  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel." 

About  that  time  Brothers  Gilliland,  Scott,  and  Comp- 
ton  had  also  expressed  the  desire  to  be  free  to  preach. 

1883 — CHANGES  AND  PROGRESS  IN  THE  MISSION 

The  Rev.  Lucius  Smith  left  for  Santiago  to  take 
charge  of  the  church  work  there.  The  Rev.  Harry  Comp- 
ton  and  Mrs.  Compton  and  Miss  Rebecca  Hammond  ar- 
rived from  the  States,  he  to  take  charge  of  the  evan- 
gelistic work  at  Copiapo  and  the  ladies  to  teach. 

A  Lutheran  pastor  came  from  Germany  to  Valparaiso 
to  work  among  the  German  colonists.  Soon  nearly  all 
abandoned  Brother  von  Barchwitz-Krauser  for  the  new 
pastor.  His  work  thus  taken  from  him,  he  soon  left  for 
the  States,  hoping  to  raise  a  large  sum  of  money  and 
establish  a  good  sailors'  home.  He  did  not  raise  the 
money,  but  went  to  Germany  and  secured  a  number  of 
German  families,  mostly  Baptists,  whom  he  brought  to 
Chile.  They  settled  on  lands  about  Contulmo  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Arauco,  which  was  given  to  them  by  the  Chilean 
government.  With  the  departure  of  Krauser  from  Val- 
paraiso our  mission  ceased  to  do  Bethel  wrork  there.  I 
think  that  soon  after  that  work  was  taken  up  by  the  Sea- 


84     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

men's  Association  of  Boston,  and  has  ever  since  been 
maintained. 

The  colleges  at  Santiago  for  young  ladies  and  young 
men  went  on  successfully  with  quite  an  increase  of  in- 
come. The  faculty  of  the  school  for  girls  was  increased 
by  the  arrival  of  Miss  Lizzie  Holding,  an  efficient  teacher 
and  charming  Christian  lady. 

As  Brother  Humphrey  had  gone  home,  the  Rev.  W.  A. 
Wright  and  wife  returned  again  to  Chile,  expecting  to 
take  charge  of  the  school  for  boys  at  Santiago  which 
Brother  Humphrey  had  left.  The  position  was  already 
occupied,  and  successfully,  by  Mr.  Millard  Lemon,  and 
it  seemed  unwise  to  replace  him.  Not  being  satisfied  to 
labor  in  the  positions  which  remained  open,  the  Wrights 
soon  went  back  to  the  States.  In  a  letter  to  Mr.  LaFetra 
William  Taylor  suggests  the  transfer  to  Santiago  of  the 
Rev.  J.  P.  Gilliland,  commending  his  soundness  in  doc- 
trine, faithfulness  in  service,  and  successful  business 
management.  But  for  him  there  were  other  plans. 

William  Taylor  secured  Rev.  J.  M.  Spangler  and  wife 
to  take  charge  of  the  Concepcion  school  for  boys,  in  place 
of  the  Jeffreys,  who  on  account  of  poor  health  had  left 
the  previous  November.  They  arrived  March  10.  Mr. 
Charles  Newhouse  was  brought  from  Copiapo  to  aid  Mr. 
Spangler.  About  the  middle  of  the  year  Miss  Nettie 
Ogden  was  transferred  to  Copiapo.  From  there  she 
wrote  telling  of  her  joy  in  the  religious  privileges  and 
opportunities  at  Copiapo.  She  said  that  the  poor  girls 
were  received  at  half  price,  and  that  probably  the  rich 
girls  would  go  the  next  year  to  the  Government  Liceo 
which  had  been  started. 

The  Concepcion  school  for  girls  suffered  great  changes 
also.  For  months  Miss  Esther  L.  Spinks  had  complained 
of  being  tired  out  and  discouraged.  Her  strength  gave 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  85 

way  and  she  returned  to  the  States.  Miss  Mary  E.  San- 
born  took  her  place  as  directora.  Miss  Lelia  H.  Water- 
house  had  gone  to  the  States  at  the  end  of  the  school 
year.  Her  health  was  so  completely  broken  that  for 
much  of  the  return  voyage  she  was  confined  to  her  bed. 
That  was  the  end  of  her  four  and  a  half  years  of  work, 
marked  with  marvelous  activity  and  ceaseless  energy, 
often  carried  on  in  much  physical  pain.  What  years 
those  were  in  the  souls  converted  and  led  to  give  noble 
service  to  Christ,  and  even  for  those  not  converted,  in 
the  giving  of  a  vision  of  high  ideals  which  led  them  to 
do  much  in  the  uplifting  of  humanity!  Her  girls  either 
as  teachers  or  mothers  caught  the  inspiration  for  better 
things  from  her,  and  one  of  her  servant  girls,  converted 
when  with  her,  was  a  leader  for  more  than  twenty-five 
years  in  a  native  church.  I  have  already  spoken  of  that 
splendid  man,  Dr.  Carlos  Fernandez  Peiia,  who  received 
his  high  ideals  for  noble  service  from  her. 

In  William  Taylor's  book,  Our  South  American  Cous- 
ins, he  said :  "Miss  Lelia  H.  Waterhouse  remained  and 
worked  and  prayed,  and  by  her  heroic  faith  carried  the 
movement  through  all  its  struggles  and  perils  for  nearly 
four  years;  but,  broken  down  in  health,  is  now  on  her 
homeward  voyage  round  Cape  Horn.  If  the  Lord  has 
sent  out  a  more  genuine  missionary  to  any  land  in  the 
last  hundred  years  than  is  Lelia  Waterhouse,  the  fact 
has  not  come  to  my  notice." 

Two  conclusions  regarding  missionary  administration 
have  been  impressed  upon  me.  The  first  is  that  every 
missionary  enterprise  should  be  so  sustained  financially 
from  the  home  base  that  successful  missionaries  need  not 
break  down  in  health  through  hard  conditions  which  it  is 
possible  to  alleviate  by  proper  outlay  of  money.  The 
best  success  is  won  by  cooperation — the  missionary  secur- 


86     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

ing  on  the  mission  field  all  he  possibly  can  toward  self- 
support  and  the  churches  at  home  supplying  the  balance. 
The  second  conclusion  reached  is  that  the  success  of  the 
work  depends  largely  upon  the  personality  of  the  mis- 
sionary. The  right  personality  so  represents  Christ  and 
so  reaches  into  the  hearts  of  the  pupils  and  the  people 
with  whom  it  comes  into  relationship  that  some  are  con- 
verted and  led  into  the  service  of  the  Master,  even  though 
conditions  are  adverse  and  formal  religious  services  can- 
not be  held.  Lacking  the  right  personality,  little  is  ac- 
complished under  any  circumstances. 

It  does  seem  that  too  little  attention  was  given  to  the 
personality  of  the  candidate  when  missionaries  were 
selected  for  the  foreign  field.  There x  were  too  many 
misfits. 

Two  events  of  importance  for  the  mission  during  the 
year  1883  were  the  coming  of  William  Taylor  and  the 
purchase  of  the  first  property.  He  sailed  from  New  York 
in  January.  On  his  way  down  the  coast  he  visited  the 
different  stations,  going  as  far  south  as  Santiago.  Then 
he  returned  to  Coquimbo,  where  he  took  charge  of  the 
church  which  had  been  left  without  a  pastor  through  the 
ill  health  of  Brother  A.  T.  Jeffrey,  and  the  death  of 
Brother  Collier.  The  health  of  this  good  brother  had 
continued  to  fail.  He  decided  to  return  to  the  States, 
taking  passage  on  a  sailing  vessel,  and  on  the  first  day  of 
May,  when  twenty-five  days  at  sea,  he  died. 

In  January  Miss  Josephine  Corbin  arrived  at  Coquimbo 
to  aid  Miss  Holding  in  the  school.  Along  in  the  year  the 
Rev.  W.  T.  Robinson,  who  had  been  laboring  for  some 
months  on  the  coast  of  Brazil,  arrived  at  Coquimbo.  On 
November  5  he  reported  that  he  had  seven  day  and  four 
night  pupils. 

The  first  piece  of  property  bought  for  the  Chile  Mis- 


A  front  view  of  what  was  called  the  Wesleyan  Academy,  a  school 
started  by  William  Taylor  in  Coquimbo,  Chile,  in  1880. 

Coquimbo  Church  and  Parsonage. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  87 

sion  was  purchased  by  William  Taylor  at  Coquimbo  for 
the  use  of  the  boys  and  girls'  schools.  It  was  a  lot 
68  x  168  feet,  centrally  located  on  one  of  the  principal 
streets,  and  cost  3,000  pesos  (about  $2,200  in  United 
States  money).  During  the  remainder  of  the  year  and 
the  early  part  of  1884  he  and  W.  T.  Robinson  labored 
with  their  own  hands  in  the  erection  of  a  two-story 
wooden  building,  30  x  68  feet  in  size,  for  the  school  which 
Miss  Rachel  Holding  started  in  1882. 

William  Taylor  found  that  in  some  respects  Coquimbo 
was  a  very  hard  field.  He  wrote  to  LaFetra :  "Coquimbo 
is  an  important  field,  and  from  various  causes  operating 
that  I  need  not  name,  the  work  had  so  nearly  gone  away 
from  us  that  the  Lord  put  others  out  and  put  me  in.  In 
Santiago  you  have  the  advantage  of  having  two  or  three 
men  of  years  and  standing  who  are  spiritually  religious ; 
but  here  not  one,  except  one  who  has  great  zeal  in  Sun- 
day school  work  and  a  valuable  man,  but  selling  drink  by 
the  bottle  and  giving  it  out  by  the  glass  six  days  in  the 
week." 

Again  he  wrote:  "With  the  commission  of  the  angel 
flying  through  the  midst  of  heaven  bearing  the  everlast- 
ing gospel  to  preach  to  the  nations  for  the  past  one  fourth 
of  a  century,  to  have  my  wings  clipped  and  to  be  stuck 
down  in  a  duck  pond  with  the  tadpoles  for  nearly  a  whole 
year,  is  no  joke  for  a  man  of  my  years;  but  I  accept  it 
as  of  the  Lord,  and  he  gives  me  strength  according  to 
my  need.  I  have  daily  conscious  blessed  union  through 
our  great  Kinsman  in  Court." 

But  in  the  midst  of  the  hard  things  to  bear  there  were 
some  things  to  cheer.  The  intendente  (governor  of  the 
province)  offered  to  place  in  Taylor's  hands  the  girls' 
llceo,  a  new  building  for  which  was  being  erected  in 
front  of  the  principal  plaza  in  Serena,  the  capital  of  the 


88     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

Province.  He  introduced  to  Taylor  Senor  Alfonzo,  a 
wealthy  liberal.  They  promised  to  be  responsible  for 
sixty  girls  who  were  to  attend  the  liceo.  The  education 
of  girls  in  Chile,  especially  that  above  primary  grades, 
had  been  almost  exclusively  in  the  hands  of  the  nuns. 
Hence  when  the  Chilean  government  wanted  to  start 
good  schools  for  girls  it  found  difficulty  in  securing 
teachers  prepared  for  that  work.  That  is  probably  why 
William  Taylor  was  asked  to  take  charge  of  the  new 
liceo  at  Serena.  Upon  consideration  Taylor  found  it 
impossible  for  him  to  take  charge,  furnish  teachers,  and 
make  himself  financially  responsible,  for,  after  all,  he 
would  be  somewhat  in  the  hands  of  the  Chilean  officials. 

NEED  OF  INCORPORATION 

Any  school  or  church  properties  purchased  for  the 
Mission,  as  well  as  the  organs,  pianos,  school  desks,  and 
all  furnishings  for  churches  and  schools  had  to  be  held 
as  the  private  property  of  some  individual.  In  view  of 
the  frequent  changes  which  had  taken  place  among  those 
who  were  in  charge  of  the  schools  and  churches,  in  whose 
names  the  furnishings  were  held,  serious  inconveniences 
had  arisen  in  regard  to  the  legal  holding  of  such  movable 
properties  as  had  been  acquired.  As  William  Taylor  did 
not  purpose  to  remain  long  at  Coquimbo,  it  was  not  con- 
venient to  hold  the  property  in  his  own  name.  He  felt 
the  necessity  of  securing  the  incorporation  of  a  body  by 
the  government  which  could  hold  properties.  He  wrote 
to  LaFetra  in  regard  to  the  matter  in  July,  1883: 

Our  petition  to  Congress  for  a  charter  of  incorporation  should 
contain  a  showing  of  the  object  of  our  Mission  to  Chile,  and  of 
our  principles  and  plans  such  as  the  following: 

"With  a  high  appreciation  of  this  rising  nation,  we  come  to 
render  any  service  we  can  in  the  education  and  development  of 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  89 

her  varied  population,  by  all  legitimate  means,  especially  by 
founding  good  schools  of  the  most  practical  and  useful  kind 
from  the  kindergarten  up  to  the  highest  grades  of  preparation 
for  entrance  into  the  State  University. 

"Our  educational  system  is  based  on  the  simplest,  soundest 
principles  of  morality  derivable  from  the  plain  teaching  of  God, 
without  which  education  is  liable  to  be  perverted  to  the  purposes 
of  narrow  selfishness,  instead  of  being  a  public  benefaction. 
Knowledge  is  power.  Power  in  the  hands  of  a  bad  man  makes 
him  a  dangerous  animal  in  society. 

"Sound  morality  implies  an  appreciative  knowledge  of  God — 
the  relations  we  sustain  to  him,  and  to  each  other,  the  duties 
growing  out  of  these  relations,  and  the  sources  of  divine  grace 
from  which  we  may  be  enabled  to  fulfill  those  duties.  Such 
knowledge  is  derivable  from  the  simple,  undebatable  teaching 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

"It  is  no  part  of  our  purpose  to  berate  the  established  religion 
of  Chile,  nor  to  have  any  altercations  with  its  patrons  or  priests. 

"We  believe  in  the  personal  responsibility  to  God  and  to  soci- 
ety. Hence  in  the  personal  right  and  duty  of  each  subject  of 
government  to  read  and  study  the  laws,  statutes,  motives,  and 
immunities  recorded  for  our  instruction  both  in  God's  Book 
and  in  the  'Blue  Books'  of  the  State.  And  thus  with  an  enlight- 
ened judgment  and  conscience,  we  believe  in  the  right  of  moral 
freedom  to  walk  in  the  path  of  duty  thus  indicated.  Both  Eng- 
land and  the  United  States  of  America  attribute  their  growth 
and  greatness  mainly  to  this  very  thing. 

"In  our  schools,  however,  we  neither  interfere  with  nor  teach 
the  dogmas  or  catechisms  of  any  church.  Out  of  school  hours 
we  do  not  interfere  with  the  freedom  of  our  pupils  to  worship 
God  in  whatever  manner  or  place  most  desirable  by  them  and 
by  their  parents. 

"We  will  quietly  help  to  instill  these  liberal  principles  into  the 
minds  of  the  people,  but  not  unduly  obtrude  on  such  as  are  not 
yet  prepared  to  receive  them. 

"It  is  now  five  years  since  we  commenced  our  school  work  in 
Chile.  Besides  passage  money  and  a  small  outfit  of  school  furni- 
ture from  the  United  States  of  America,  our  work  is  purely  self- 
supporting.  We  are  not  here  as  the  propagandists  of  any  for- 
eign church,  and  our  work  in  Chile  has  no  organic  relationship 
with  any  foreign  church,  and  yet  not  one  of  the  workers  is 


laboring  on  his  own  account  for  personal  money  making.  We 
have  organized  ourselves  into  a  South  American  Association, 
that,  by  concert  of  aim  and  action,  we  may  confer  the  greater 
benefit  on  this  country  into  which  we  have  come  to  stay. 

"In  our  schools  in  Copiapo,  Caldera,  Concepcion,  Coquimbo, 
and  Santiago  we  have  about  thirty  American  professors,  besides 
a  number  of  Chilean  birth  whom  we  have  trained  in  our  schools. 
We  are  here  to  do  a  permanent  work,  and  to  man  it  from  for- 
eign countries  till  we  can  develop  adequate  and  competent  native 
agency  to  carry  it  on  till  the  end  of  time. 

"One  of  the  means  and  guarantees  of  permanence  to  this 
movement  is  to  give  it  legal  right  to  and  possession  of  local 
habitation,  and  facilities  for  effective  and  continuous  work. 
Hence  we  respectfully  petition  ...  to  grant  us  a  charter  for 
incorporation. 

"You  will  thus  aid  us  in  a  work  in  which  we  know  that  you 
are  especially  interested,  and  our  success  will  be  just  so  much 
toward  your  success  in  your  great  educational  plans  for  your 
aspiring  people." 

Taylor  further  suggested  that  the  incorporated  body 
consist  of  a  "legal  dozen,  which  body  shall  be  authorized 
by  act  of  incorporation  to  hold  in  trust  all  properties  for 
schools,  places  of  worship,  and  residences  for  preachers 
and  teachers ;  to  receive  legacies  for  the  purposes  named, 
to  defend  the  rights  of  the  incorporation,  sue  and  be  sued 
in  law:  to  cooperate  with  a  local  Board  of  Trustees,  and 
not  to  be  allowed  to  alienate  property,  or  transfer  prop- 
erty against  the  wishes  of  the  Board,  nor  to  allow  such 
local  Board  to  divert  property  from  its  proper  purposes; 
not  to  encumber  it  by  mortgage  for  outside  current  ex- 
penses. Said  legal  dozen  to  be  members  of  our 
Conference." 

Such  were  the  principles  and  plans  which  Taylor  de- 
sired to  have  embodied  in  the  articles  of  incorporation 
which  he  wished  to  secure  from  the  government  through 
the  aid  of  liberals. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  91 

That  he  purposed  to  secure  other  properties  for  his 
schools  and  churches  is  shown  by  his  published  report, 
a  part  of  which  I  give: 

In  Copiapo,  Chile,  we  occupied  one  rented  house  for  four 
years,  and  developed  a  good  school  and  a  church  of  twenty 
members,  about  half  of  whom  are  converted  Chilenos,  also  a 
large  Sunday  school.  But  recently  the  building  was  bought  by 
a  man  unfriendly  to  the  religious  character  of  our  work.  He 
ejected  us  from  the  premises  in  twenty  hours;  and  in  that  town 
of  12,000  population  we  cannot  find  a  house  for  rent  suitable 
for  our  purposes.  If  we  had  the  money,  we  could  buy  a  prop- 
erty every  way  adapted  to  our  requirements  for  seven  thousand 
dollars.  We  are  liable  to  such  ejections  in  any  part  of  our 
South  American  work. 

The  teachers  in  our  female  college  in  Santiago,  the  capital  of 
Chile,  have  to  pay  out  of  their  earnings  three  thousand  dollars 
per  year  for  the  buildings  they  occupy,  besides  thousands  of 
dollars  to  furnish  them,  not  for  themselves,  but  for  the  Church 
of  God.  They  can  do  it;  but  I  respectfully  submit,  Is  it  fair  to 
lay  so  heavy  a  burden  on  my  heroic  people,  when  we  have  so 
many  friends  at  home  who  can  easily  help  them?  Such  help 
need  not  in  the  least  infringe  our  clearly  defined  self-support- 
ing principle  nor  diminish  the  funds  of  our  Missionary  Society. 

The  Chile  Mission  did  not.  however,  secure  legal  incor- 
poration until  1905,  when  it  had  been  taken  over  by  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  that  body  after  some 
years  of  experience  became  convinced  of  the  desirability 
of  incorporation. 


92     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE       TRANSIT       AND       BUILDING       FUND 

SOCIETY    REPLACES    WILLIAM 

TAYLOR 

WILLIAM   TAYLOR   ELECTED  TO   GENERAL   CONFERENCE 

THE  one  important  event  of  the  year  1884  which  more 
than  any  other  affected  the  future  of  the  Taylor  Self- 
Supporting  Missions  on  the  west  coast  of  South  Amer- 
ica was  the  election  of  William  Taylor  as  lay  delegate 
to  the  General  Conference  of  1884,  by  the  South  India 
Conference.  His  participation  in  that  Conference  led 
that  body  to  elect  him  as  missionary  bishop  of  Africa. 
He  left  the  west  coast  in  April.  His  duties  as  bishop  of 
Africa  so  absorbed  his  time  and  his  energies  that  he  was 
able  to  give  very  little  supervision  and  little  financial  aid 
to  the  mission  which  bore  his  name. 

In  order  to  bring  his  self-supporting  missions  into 
relationship  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  William 
Taylor  presented  the  following  memorial  to  the  General 
Conference: 

MEMORIAL 

/  have  a  prayer  to  present  to  this  General  Conference: 
I.  I  want  this  body  to  say  that  it  is  lawful  and  right  to  get 
people  converted  to  God,  and  to  organize  them  into  self-support- 
ing Methodist  Episcopal  Churches  in  foreign  countries,  just  as 
we  have  always  been  accustomed  to  do  in  the  United  States ;  and 
that  such  churches,  under  the  jurisdiction  of  our  bishops,  ful- 
filling the  disciplinary  conditions  of  membership,  shall  be  eligible 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  93 

to  a  direct  legitimate  relation  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
without  being  put  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Missionary  Soci- 
ety ;  such  churches,  opposing  no  bar,  but  assisting  the  Missionary 
Society  in  their  work  of  founding  missions  among  the  poor  in 
the  same  countries. 

II.  That  the  rule  under  which  young  ministers   may  be  or- 
dained for  foreign  work  at  the  beginning,  instead  of  at  the  end 
of  their  probation,  may  be  made  applicable  to  ministers  sent  to 
foreign  self-supporting  fields. 

III.  That   the  bishops   be  authorized   to   organize   the   West 
Coast  Conference  of  South  America  as  soon  as  they  shall  deem 
it  advisable. 

The  memorial  was  received,  and  the  General  Confer- 
ence passed  the  following  action : 

Wherever  Methodist  Churches  are  organized  in  territory  out- 
side of  an  Annual  Conference,  or  any  regular  mission  of  our 
church,  such  work  may  be  attached  to  such  home  Conferences 
as  the  said  churches  may  elect,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  bishop 
having  charge  of  said  Conference,  and  may  be  constituted  a 
presiding  elder's  district  (Discipline,  Paragraph  361). 

That  action  enabled  all  churches  organized  in  the  Taylor 
Self-Supporting  Missions  to  be  received  into  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church.  It  granted  all  that  he  asked  except 
the  authorization  to  organize  a  West  Coast  Conference. 

TRANSIT  AND  BUILDING  FUND  SOCIETY  ORGANIZED 

The  second  event  of  the  year  1884  which  affected  even 
to  life  or  death  the  William  Taylor  Self-Supporting  Mis- 
sions on  the  west  coast  was  the  organization  of  the  Tran- 
sit and  Building  Fund  Society.  As  William  Taylor  was 
elected  Bishop  of  Africa,  there  was  need  of  some  other 
agency  to  look  after  the  west  coast  missions. 

Immediately  after  the  adjournment  of  the  General  Con- 
ference Bishop  Taylor  and  some  of  his  friends,  who  had 
been  most  interested  in  the  work  of  self-supporting  mis- 


94     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

sions,  met  in  New  York  and  organized  the  Transit  and 
Building  Fund  Society,  for  the  purpose  of  better  caring 
for  the  missions  already  in  operation  and  the  work  to  be 
begun  in  Africa.  The  incorporation  was  given  the  fol- 
lowing form: 

Know  All  Men  By  These  Presents,  That  we,  ANDERSON 
FOWLER,  ASBURY  LOWREY,  CHAUNCEY  SHAFFER, 
WILLIAM  TAYLOR  and  RICHARD  GRANT,  being  severally 
of  full  age  and  citizens  of  the  United  States,  a  majority  of 
whom,  that  is  to  say,  the  first  three  above  named,  are  citizens 
of  the  State  of  Nczv  York,  being  desirous  to  associate  ourselves 
for  Missionary  purposes,  do,  by  these  presents,  pursuant  to  the 
Act  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York,  entitled  "An 
Act  for  the  incorporation  of  benevolent,  charitable,  scientific,  and 
missionary  societies,"  passed  April  i2th,  1848,  and  the  several 
Acts  of  the  said  Legislature  amendatory  thereof,  make  and  sign 
this  certificate  in  writing  for  the  purpose  of  constituting  our- 
selves and  our  associates  and  successors  a  body  politic  and  cor- 
porate under  and  by  virtue  of  said  Act;  and  we  hereby  state  that 
the  name  or  title  by  which  the  said  Society  shall  be  known  in 
law  is  "THE  TRANSIT  AND  BUILDING  FUND  SOCIETY 
OF  BISHOP  WILLIAM  TAYLOR'S  SELF-SUPPORTING 
MISSIONS,"  and  that  the  particular  business  and  objects  of  the 
said  Society  are  to  provide  the  ways  and  means,  and  to  manage, 
appropriate,  and  apply  the  same,  as  follows,  namely :  to  provide 
a  suitable  outfit  for  Missionary  preachers  and  teachers,  to  pay 
their  passage  to  foreign  countries,  to  pay  the  traveling  expenses 
of  pioneer  evangelists  in  those  countries,  to  build  or  purchase 
dwelling  houses,  school  houses,  and  houses  of  worship  for  the 
use  of  the  Missionaries,  also  to  translate  the  Sacred  Scriptures 
and  suitable  religious  and  literary  publications  into  foreign  lan- 
guages, and  to  print  and  publish  the  same ;  and  that  the  number 
of  Trustees,  Directors  or  Managers  to  manage  the  same  shall 
consist  of  five  members,  and  that  the  names  of  the  Trustees, 
Directors  or  managers  for  the  first  year  of  its  existence  are 
WILLIAM  TAYLOR,  ANDERSON  FOWLER,  RICHARD 
GRANT,  ASBURY  LOWREY,  and  CHAUNCEY  SHAFFER, 
and  the  place  of  business  or  principal  office  of  the  said  associa- 
tion shall  be  located  in  the  City  of  New  York,  in  the  said  State 


MR.  ANDERSON  FOWLER 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  95 

of  New  York.  The  funds  of  this  Society  shall  not  be  used  to 
pay  salaries  of  agents  at  home,  nor  of  preachers  or  teachers  in 
foreign  countries. 

ANDERSON  FOWLER, 
ASBURY  LOWREY, 
CHAUNCEY  SHAFFER, 
Trustees:^  WILLIAM  TAYLOR, 
RICHARD  GRANT, 
THOS.  CRITCHLOW, 
STEPHEN  MERRITT. 


The  Society  was  then  organized  with  the  following 
officers : 

President — Bishop  William  Taylor. 

COMMITTEE 

First  Vice-President — Rev.  Asbury  Lowrey,  D.D. 

Second  Vice-President — Anderson  Fowler. 

Corresponding  Secretary — Rev.  Alexander  McLean. 

Recording  Secretary — Mrs.  Asbury  Lowrey. 

Treasurer — Richard  Grant. 

Counsel — Chauncey  Shaffer,  Esq.,  Thomas  Critchlow, 
Esq.,  Mrs.  Anderson  Fowler,  Mrs.  Richard  Grant,  Mrs. 
Langford  Palmer. 

The  committee  declared  that : 

The  particular  business  and  object  of  said  Society  is  to  pro- 
vide ways  and  means,  and  to  manage  and  appropriate  the  same 
as  follows :  To  pay  passage  of  missionaries  to  foreign  countries 
from  New  York,  also  the  traveling  expenses  of  pioneer  evange- 
lists in  the  countries ;  to  build  or  purchase  dwelling  and  school- 
houses  or  houses  of  worship  for  the  use  of  the  missionaries. 

The  funds  of  the  Society  shall  not  be  used  to  pay  salaries  of 
agents  at  home,  or  preachers  or  teachers  in  foreign  countries. 

There  is  no  provision  made  by  this  Society  for  missionaries 
returning  from  their  field  of  labor. 

The  Society  does  not  deem  itself  justified  in  paying  the  out- 


96     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

going   expenses   entire  where   less   than   five   years'   service   is 
rendered. 

The  principles  of  self-support  given  by  William  Taylor  to  the 
Rev.  Ira  H.  LaFetra  were: 

1.  They  who  preach  the  gospel  live  of  the  gospel. 

2.  The  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire,  to  be  paid  by  those  for 
whom  he  works. 

That  the  qualifications  and  self-sacrifice  required  of 
candidates  for  missionary  work  under  the  direction  of 
the  Committee  were  very  exacting  is  shown  by  the 
following : 

QUALIFICATIONS    FOR    MISSIONARIES 

First.  A  deep  love  for  Christ  and  the  salvation  of  the  world ; 
and  experimental  knowledge  of  the  plan  of  salvation,  and  being 
wholly  consecrated  in  their  inward  life  to  Christ;  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  present  sanctifying  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost; 
strong  faith  in  Christ  for  the  salvation  of  those  with  whom 
they  work,  and  to  understand  the  value  of  a  soul  sufficiently 
to  realize,  in  some  degree,  the  loss  of  a  soul,  and  the  perfect 
adaptability  of  the  gospel  to  reach  the  most  benighted.  Mission 
work  is  patient,  Christlike  life,  daily  plodding  in  faith  when  there 
are  no  external  helps,  far  away  from  those  we  have  loved  and 
labored  within  years  past,  sowing  the  seed  by  the  side  of  all 
waters,  believing  in  God  that  some  will  take  root.  All  this 
demands  self-sacrifice  and  implicit  faith  in  God  and  Jesus  Christ 
his  Son.  The  Word  of  God,  and  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit's 
work  and  witness  bearing  on  this  line,  will  sooner  or  later  pro- 
duce fruit — short  of  this,  the  man  or  woman  is  a  failure. 

Second.  Before  applying,  ascertain  if  you  have  been  of  any 
use  in  the  church  at  home;  unless  this  is  proved  satisfactorily, 
do  not  apply.  Unless  you  can  face  difficulties,  trials,  privations, 
hardships,  and  suffering  at  home,  and  have  a  patient,  plodding, 
persevering,  undaunted  spirit,  do  not  apply.  If  you  are  spas- 
modic in  your  feelings  and  faith  at  home,  burning  with  zeal  this 
week,  next  discouraged,  you  will  not  do,  for  you  will  be  weary 
and  tired  before  you  reach  your  station. 

All  applications  must  be  accompanied  by  testimonials  from  the 


97 

pastor  and  presiding  elder,  as  to  religious  character  and  general 
fitness  for  the  work. 

A  certificate  as  to  health  from  a  reliable  physician ;  also  a 
statement  from  a  principal,  professor,  or  other  intelligent  per- 
son, as  to  education. 

In  South  America  and  India,  three  kinds  of  laborers  are  in 
demand : 

First. — Well  qualified  teachers  (graduates),  and  those  who 
have  had  some  experience  in  teaching,  preferred.  Some  first- 
class  music-teachers  required. 

Second. — Preachers  and  teachers,  men  who  can  teach  through 
the  week  and  do  evangelistic  work  on  the  Sabbath. 

Those  applying  will  please  answer  the  following  questions: 

1.  Do  you  trust  you  are  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  take 
upon  you  the  work  of  a  foreign  missionary? 

Ans. 

2.  Do  you  desire  and  intend  to  make  this  your  lifework,  and 
are  you  willing  to  work  in  any  field? 

Ans. 

3.  Are  you  conscious  of  being  born  again  and  entirely  conse- 
crated to  God? 

Ans. 

4.  Are  you  pressed  with  an   earnest  desire  to  win   souls   to 
Christ,  and  have  you  had  any  experience  and  success  in  revival 
work? 

Ans. 

5.  Are  you  acquainted  with  the  doctrines   of  the   Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  as  embodied  in  its  Discipline  and  teachings, 
do  you  believe  in  them,  and  are  you  a  member  of  that  church, 
in  good  standing? 

Ans. 

6.  In  what  schools  have  you  taught,  if  any,  and  with  what 
success? 

Ans. 

7.  Have  you  a   knowledge  of  music,   either  vocal   or   instru- 
mental? 

Ans. 

8.  What  is  the  condition  of  your  health? 
Ans. 

9.  What  is  your  age? 
Ans. 


98     HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

10.  Are  you  married,  or  have  you  ever  been?     If  not,  have 
you  any  engagement  that  would  interfere  with  your  work;  if 
married,  how  many  children?  sex?  age? 

Ans. 

11.  Are  you  entirely  free  from  the  use  of  liquor  and  tobacco, 
and  other  narcotic  or  intoxicating  stimulants  of  every  kind? 

Ans. 

12.  Are  you  in  debt? 
Ans. 

13.  Will  you  do  any  work  of  which  you  are  judged  capable, 
go  to  any  field  to  which  you  may  be  assigned,  and  not  leave 
it  without  the  consent  of  the  Society  or  its  authorized  repre- 
sentatives? 

Ans. 

Please  sign  and  return  this  paper,  with  physician's  certifi- 
cate, also  recommendations  and  likeness. 

Address  all  communications  to  The  Transit  and  Building 
Fund  Society,  181  Hudson  St.,  New  York  City. 

Immediately  after  its  organization  the  Transit  and 
Building  Fund  Society  assumed  complete  direction  of  the 
missionary  operations  in  Chile.  Mr.  LaFetra  was  in  the 
States  from  November,  1884,  to  May,  1885.  At  a  meet- 
ing of  the  committee  held  May  7,  1885,  the  following  res- 
olutions were  passed: 

First:  A  motion  was  adopted  making  Rev.  I.  H.  LaFetra 
general  agent  of  Bishop  Taylor's  Mission  work  on  the  west 
coast  of  South  America. 

Second:  A  motion  was  adopted  to  appoint  the  Rev.  I.  H. 
LaFetra  as  our  attorney  for  the  purchase  and  transfer  to  us  of 
all  property,  real  and  personal,  as  we  shall  from  time  to  time 
direct,  on  the  west  coast  of  South  America. 

THE  TAYLOR  MISSION  AS  RECEIVED  BY  THE  TRANSIT 
AND  BUILDING  FUND  SOCIETY 

As  transferred  to  the  new  society  the  mission  stations 
were  as  follows: 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA  99 

At  Copiapo1  Rev.  Harry  Compton  and  wife  and  Mrs. 
Marietta  A.  Vasbinder,  and  Miss  Rebecca  J.  Hammond 
carried  on  a  small  school  and  Mr.  Compton  ministered  to 
a  small  congregation  of  English  residents,  among  whom 
an  undenominational  church  organization  had  been  ef- 
fected. But  the  support  was  meager  and  uncertain. 
Some  years  previously  Copiapo  had  been  a  flourishing  and 
important  city  of  some  12,000  inhabitants,  but  with  the 
decay  of  the  extensive  copper  and  silver  mining  inter- 
ests, upon  which  it  largely  depended,  the  place  lost  much 
of  its  prosperity  and  population.  The  census  of  1885 
gave  to  it  only  9,916  inhabitants. 

At  Coquimbo  the  new  building  for  the  school,  on  which 
Mr.  Taylor  had  labored,  was  completed  and  a  promising 
school  was  under  way.  The  Rev.  W.  T.  Robinson  and 
wife,  Miss  Josephine  Corbin,  Miss  Laura  J.  Hanlon,  and 
Miss  Rachel  T.  Holding  were  employed.  Mr.  Robinson 
also  supplied  the  pulpit  of  the  church  among  the  English 
people. 

At  Santiago1  the  Santiago  College  was  enjoying  one  of 
the  most  prosperous  years  it  ever  had  while  in  rented 
buildings.  The  following  teachers  were  employed:  Rev. 
I.  H.  LaFetra  and  wife,  T.  W.  LaFetra,  J.  M.  Vincent 
and  wife,  Miss  Lizzie.  E.  Holding,  Miss  Rosina  A.  Kins- 
man, Miss  Edith  A.  Fawcett,  and  Miss  Hannah  S. 
Johnson. 

At  Concepcion  the  "Colegio  Americano,"  under  the 
directorship  of  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Spangler,  was  well  patron- 

'The  valley  in  which  the  city  is  situated  was  known  from  the  most 
remote  epoch  of  Chilean  history  by  the  name  of  Copayapu,  and  through  it 
passed  the  Camino  de  los  Incas  (the  "road  of  the  Incas"),  which  these 
laborious  people  of  Peru  had  constructed  in  prehistoric  times,  to  connect 
their  capital,  Cuzco,  with  the  rich  mineral  regions  of  Chile,  from  whose 
people  they  received  tribute  in  gold  and  silver.  The  railroad  from  Caldera 
to  Copiapo  was  opened  to  traffic  on  the  4th  of  July,  1851. 

'Santiago  was  founded  by  Pedro  Valdivia  on  the  12th  of  February,  1341, 
and  is  much  older  than  any  city  in  the  United  States.  It  had  been  in 
existence  nearly  sixty  years  when  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  landed  on  Plymouth 
Rock. 


ioo   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

ized  and  prosperous.  Mrs.  Spangler  and  Miss  Mary  E. 
Elkins  were  his  assistants.  Mr.  Spangler  also  conducted 
services  in  English.  The  girls'  school,  under  the  care  of 
Miss  Nettie  C.  Ogden  and  Miss  Martha  Boyce,  was  hav- 
ing a  successful  year. 

The  Rev.  O.  B.  Krauser  had  just  returned  from  the 
"Fatherland,"  bringing  with  him  a  large  number  of  Ger- 
man colonists,  who  settled  on  government  lands  in  the 
province  of  Arauco. 

In  all,  there  were  five  ministers  preaching  to  English 
congregations,  two  of  these  wholly  supported  by  their 
people.  There  were  schools  at  four  places,  employing 
twenty-one  mission  teachers,  making,  with  Mr.  Krauser, 
twenty-five  missionaries  in  the  field.  The  Mission  owned 
one  piece  of  property,  on  which  about  $3,000  gold  had 
been  expended,  and  with  a  debt  of  about  $2,125  ($3>°°o 
currency). 

The  other  station  in  Chile  was  Iquique.  The  war  had 
closed,  and  the  nitrate  industry  was  beginning  to  prosper 
again.  At  the  beginning  of  1884  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Gilliland 
and  family  removed  from  Caldera  to  Iquique  to  open  the 
English  church  work  which  Brother  Collier  had  been 
obliged  to  abandon  nearly  five  years  before  on  account 
of  the  war.  Brother  Gilliland  had  services  on  board  for 
seamen,  which  were  well  attended,  and  he  soon  gathered 
a  good  congregation  on  shore.  The  contributions  he  re- 
ceived among  the  seamen,  from  friends  on  shore,  from 
his  congregation,  and  from  business  houses  afforded  a 
good  support.  Mrs.  Gilliland  was  a  good  teacher  and  an 
excellent  Christian  woman.  She  gave  most  efficient  aid 
as  teacher  and  as  pastor's  wife. 

There  was  one  station  in  Peru.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Baxter 
had  come  to  Callao  and  had  started  a  school  of  which 
he  was  the  principal.  He  had  also  begun  church  work, 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          101 

holding  services  for  some  time  in  the  Masonic  Temple. 
Later  the  services  were  held  in  a  large  schoolroom. 

The  educational  work  is  scarcely  less  important.  By 
liberal  education  prejudice  is  broken  down,  and  the 
people,  otherwise  wholly  inaccessible  to  the  gospel  min- 
istry, are  made  capable  of  judging  and  acting  for  them- 
selves. 

I  will  add  in  regard  to  Mr.  Baxter's  work,  that  he 
maintained  it  till  1887.  That  he  was  able  to  sustain  him- 
self and  carry  on  the  work  for  so  long  a  time  on  the  self- 
support  plan  seems  highly  creditable. 

There  was  one  other  mission  station  at  the  time  the 
Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society  took  over  the  mission  ; 
that  was  Caldera.  The  condition  of  the  work  was  such 
when  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Society  that  steps 
were  at  once  taken  to  increase  the  missionary  force  and 
also  to  provide  more  suitable  property.  By,  the  end  of 
the  year  the  Committee  raised  about  $12,000  (United 
States  money)  for  the  mission.  Not  counting  Caldera, 
the  mission  as  passed  over  to  the  Society  consisted  in 
Chile  of  five  ministers  preaching  to  English  congrega- 
tions, two  of  whom  were  wholly  supported  by  the  people. 
There  were  schools  at  four  places  employing  twenty-one 
missionary  teachers,  making  twenty-five  missionaries  in 
the  field  besides  the  Rev.  von  Barchwitz-Krauser.  The 
mission  owned  one  piece  of  property,  on  which  about 
$3,000  gold  had  been  expended,  and  there  remained  a 
debt  of  $2,125.  1°  addition  there  was  the  work  of  Mr. 
Baxter  in  Callao,  Peru. 

There  were  some  changes  and  reenforcements  in  1884. 
Miss  Rebecca  Hammond  was  transferred  from  Copiapo 
to  Concepcion  to  take  charge  of  the  girls'  school  there  in 
place  of  Miss  Sanborn. 

The   Rev.   Lucius   Smith,   who   had   been   transferred 


102   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

from  Copiapo  to  Santiago  to  take  charge  of  the  English 
church  work  which  was  organized  by  Mr.  LaFetra,  he 
being  absent  in  the  States,  undertook  to  hold  services  in 
Spanish  but  had  to  suspend  them,  as  mobs  were  formed 
which  attacked  in  such  violence  that  his  life  was  in  dan- 
ger; besides  he  could  not  get  a  hearing.  Not  many 
months  after  he  left  for  Mexico,  where  he  labored 
successfully. 

The  Rev.  J.  C.  Horn  was  sent  out  to  take  charge  of 
the  church  work  at  Coquimbo,  and  arrived  before  the 
end  of  the  year. 

Mr.  Carl  Ebert,  a  very  earnest  young  Christian,  com- 
menced holding  services  among  some  of  the  Germans  in 
Santiago.  His  work  was  associated  with  the  Methodist 
Mission  there.  But  in  July  a  Lutheran  pastor  came  to 
work  among  the  Germans  and  Mr.  Ebert  gave  his  work 
over  to  him. 

In  the  year  1884  the  Rev.  W.  F.  Griewe,  a  Methodist 
minister  belonging  to  one  of  the  German  Conferences  of 
the  Middle  Western  States,  came  to  Chile  to  work  among 
the  German  colonists.  He  settled  in  Contulmo,  but  ex- 
tended his  work  to  different  groups  of  German  colonists 
scattered  in  that  region.  The  people  were  poor,  and 
engaged  in  a  hard  struggle  to  turn  the  forest  into  pro- 
ductive land.  In  general,  they  were  quite  distant  from 
each  other  and  indifferent  to  religion.  They  were  not 
ready  to  support  a  pastor.  The  following  year  Mr. 
Griewe  had  to  give  up  the  work.  He  went  to  Concepcion 
to  teach  in  the  boys'  school  there. 

A  TRYING  EXPERIENCE 

Already  mention  has  been  made  of  the  decay  of  the 
mining  interests  at  Copiapo,  which  so  cut  off  the  income 
of  the  missionaries  working  there  as  to  make  self-support 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          103 

almost  impossible.  When  the  situation  was  becoming 
really  critical  Mrs.  Compton  was  taken  sick  with  the 
smallpox.  A  next-door  neighbor  had  it,  but  it  was  not 
known  till  Mrs.  Compton  was  attacked.  A  picture  of 
that  trying  experience  is  given  in  Mr.  Compton's  own 
words. 

The  year  that  Mrs.  Compton  was  taken  sick  had  been  a  hard 
one.  We  had  several  hundred  dollars  of  our  own  which  we 
had  brought  out  with  us,  but  this  had  disappeared  as  the  morn- 
ing dew  in  the  Atacama  desert  where  we  lived.  We  were  obliged 
to  practice  economy  to  such  an  extent  that  during  the  first  two 
years  we  did  not  have  all  told  a  pound  of  butter  on  our  table. 
But  we  were  exceedingly  happy  in  our  field  of  labor.  We  had 
with  us  for  a  while  in  those  days  that  wonderful  man  of  God, 
Father  William  Taylor.  His  self-sacrificing  life  was  an  inspira- 
tion to  us. 

We  had  our  trials,  and  opposition  was  fierce;  but  our  faith 
did  not  dim.  One  day  Mrs.  Compton  was  taken  suddenly  sick, 
and  then  came  the  severest  trial  of  my  life.  The  doctor  was 
called  and  he  declared  that  Mrs.  Compton  had  the  smallpox. 
I  was  obliged  to  remain  at  her  bedside  seven  days,  night  and 
day,  without  sleep.  After  the  fever  left  her  and  the  smallpox 
broke  out  over  her,  her  eyes  were  closed  and  she  was  in  a  ter- 
rible condition.  We  did  not  have  any  Missionary  Society  then 
to  fall  back  upon  to  help  us  out  of  our  financial  difficulties.  The 
question  of  self-support  became  just  then  a  serious  problem  to 
us,  because  our  school  was  broken  up  and  our  pupils  gone. 
There  was  no  income.  The  other  missionaries  sent  their  regrets, 
but  regrets  don't  buy  bread.  They  could  not  send  us  anything, 
for  they  had  their  hands  full  to  support  themselves.  The  situa- 
tion drove  me  to  my  knees.  I  prayed  earnestly  to  God  for 
support,  spiritual  and  temporal.  While  I  was  praying  there 
came  to  my  mind  a  picture  of  an  old  prophet  who  was  once  in 
trouble.  I  had  a  vision  of  God  sending  his  ravens  to  him.  A 
great  peace  came  to  my  soul  because  somehow  I  was  assured 
that  the  prophet's  God  was  even  my  God ;  and  that  God  cares 
for  all  his  children.  And  why  could  not  I  rely  on  such  a  Father 
as  that? 

I  rose  from  my  knees  to  answer  a  knock  at  the  door.     An 


104   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

Englishman  was  standing  there,  the  same  Englishman  who  had 
chided  me  a  few  months  before  for  something  I  had  said  in  a 
sermon.  He  quietly  said :  "Mr.  Compton,  I  thought  that  you 
might  be  in  need  of  this,"  as  he  placed  a  roll  of  money  in  my 
hands.  Then  I  saw  that  God's  ravens  still  live  to  be  sent  on 
errands  of  mercy.  Scarcely  had  the  sound  of  his  steps  died 
away  when  another  knock  came  to  the  door  and  another  raven 
was  there  and  another  roll  of  money  was  placed  in  my  hands. 
So  it  was  from  the  beginning  of  the  sickness  to  the  close;  God 
tenderly  cared  for  us,  giving  temporal  and  spiritual  help. 

Mrs.  Compton  was  restored  to  health,  and  since  that 
date  has  given  a  third  of  a  century  of  faithful  and  de- 
voted service  in  the  mission  field. 

There  were  further  reenforcements  and  changes  in 
1885.  New  missionaries  were  sent  out;  Miss  Leach  went 
to  Iquique  to  aid  in  the  school,  and  Miss  Emma  Grant 
to  Copiapo.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Richard  Grant, 
the  treasurer  of  the  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society 
and  a  liberal  supporter  of  William  Taylor's  Self-Sup- 
porting Missions.  Clifford  S.  Scott  and  wife  and  Miss 
Wallace  were  also  sent  to  Copiapo.  A  Mr.  Baldwin  came 
to  Iquique,  but  did  not  stay  long.  Miss  Alice  Baldwin, 
of  another  family,  was  sent  to  Santiago  College,  which 
institution  continued  in  high  tide  of  prosperity. 

The  Rev.  Harry  Compton  and  Mrs.  Rebecca  Compton 
were  transferred  from  Copiapo  to  Coquimbo  to  take 
charge  of  the  school  there.  And  Miss  Mary  Fuller  was 
also  sent  to  Coquimbo. 

The  Rev.  W.  T.  Robinson  and  Mrs.  Robinson  were 
transferred  from  Coquimbo  to  Concepcion  to  take  charge 
of  the  "Colegio  Americano,"  the  school  for  boys  in  that 
city.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spangler,  who  had  been  in  charge, 
had  gone  to  the  States. 

At  Iquique,  on  the  4th  of  February,  1885,  a  corner  lot, 
37  x  126  feet,  was  bought  by  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Gilliland. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          105 

It  was  situated  in  the  very  best  part  of  the  city.  A  build- 
ing for  a  chapel,  parsonage,  and  school  was  erected  dur- 
ing the  year,  and  the  whole  account  was  paid  for  from 
appropriations  by  the  Society  and  contributions  in  the 
city. 

THE  YEAR  1886 

Miss  Sabra  Wakeman  was  sent  out  to  Iquique,  Miss 
Mabel  E.  Curtis  and  Miss  Edith  Fawcett  to  Santiago, 
and  Miss  Emma  Bard  and  Miss  Mary  Knoll  to  Concep- 
cion.  Miss  Rose  M.  Williams,  a  music  teacher,  also 
came  out.  She  remained  about  two  years. 

The  school  started  by  Mr.  Gilliland  at  Iquique  was 
prospering  well.  On  account  of  his  church  work  he 
could  give  but  little  time  to  the  school,  hit  Mrs.  Gilliland 
and  Miss  Leach  were  good  teachers,  and  Miss  Wakeman 
was  a  splendid  reenforcement. 

At  Santiago,  under  the  able  management  of  the  LaFet- 
ras,  the  attendance  was  fairly  good,  especially  in  the 
girls'  school,  and  the  financial  condition  of  the  school  was 
very  satisfactory. 

At  Coquimbo  the  Comptons  were  in  charge.  The 
school  was  doing  only  fairly  well.  The  mining  interests 
of  the  province  were  going  down  and  the  hard  times 
affected  the  school. 

The  schools  for  boys  and  for  girls  at  Concepcion,  the 
first  under  the  direction  of  W.  T.  Robinson  and  the  sec- 
ond under  Miss  Rebecca  Hammond,  could  hardly  be 
called  prospersous. 

At  Iquique  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Gilliland  held  evangelistic 
services  for  the  English  people  and  also  labored  among 
the  sailors  in  the  Bay. 

At  Coquimbo  the  services  were  quite  well  attended. 
The  pastor,  the  Rev.  J.  C.  Horn,  stated  that  Methodist 


io6   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

doctrines  were  being  taught  without  compromise,  but  that 
Methodist  usages  were  not  adhered  to  altogether.  He 
complained  that  the  church  work  was  difficult,  as  he  had 
to  work  through  a  committee.  He  thought  it  not  advis- 
able to  hold  the  Annual  Mission  Conference  at  Coquimbo, 
as  it  might  make  his  work  more  difficult ;  and  said  that  it 
would  not  do  to  organize  a  Methodist  church.  On  account 
of  bad  health  he  left  for  the  States  December  8,  1886. 

PROPERTY  ACQUIRED 

A~t  Concepcion,  on  February  3,  1886,  a  corner  lot, 
98  x  198  feet,  one  square  from  the  railroad  station,  and 
on  the  principal  street  of  the  city,  was  bought  for  about 
$5,000  gold  ($10,000  currency)  and  a  building  erected  for 
the  use  of  the  "Colegio  Americano." 

At  Coquimbo,  on  March  18,  1886,  a  corner  property 
with  the  two-story  house,  in  which  the  church  service  had 
been  held  from  the  first,  was  bought  and  remodeled  for 
chapel,  Sunday  school  and  class  rooms  and  parsonage. 
The  cost  was  $3,500  gold  ($6,500  currency),  and  the 
expense  of  refitting  was  about  $4,500  ($7,500  currency, 
some  $5,200  of  which  was  subscribed  by  the  people). 
Mr.  Horn,  the  pastor,  reported  that  the  people  gave  4,500 
pesos,  that  $4,000  (United  States  money)  was  received 
from  the  States,  and  that  there  remained  a  debt  of  $400. 

At  Santiago,  on  April  9,  1886,  a  corner  lot,  with  a  part 
extending  back  to  another  street,  on  one  of  the  chief  resi- 
dence streets  of  the  city,  was  bought  for  $18,000  ($35,000 
currency),  and  a  building  three  stories  high,  two  hundred 
feet  long,  with  one  wing  one  hundred  and  thirty  two  feet 
and  another  two  hundred  feet,  was  erected,  at  a  cost  of 
about  $38,000  ($81,000  currency)  for  the  use  of  Santiago 
College. 

In  the  year  1887  very  few  changes  were  made  in  the 


A  view  of  one  of  the  patios,  interior  courts,  of  Concepcion  College. 

A  Iront  view  of  the  first  building  erected  for  Concepcion  College, 
Concepcion,  Chile. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          107 

adjustment  of  the  missionaries  to  the  needs  of  the  work. 
The  Rev.  W.  F.  Griewe  went  from  Santiago  to  Angol 
and  started  a  school  in  that  city. 

In  December  the  Rev.  J.  M.  Baxter  left  Callao  and 
returned  to  the  States. 

Bishop  Harris  had  visited  the  Taylor  Missions  on  the 
west  coast  of  South  America  in  1881,  the  only  official 
representative  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Wil- 
liam Taylor  himself  visited  the  stations  in  1882  and  re- 
mained on  the  field  till  early  in  1884.  In  1887  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Asbury  Lowrey,  secretary  of  the  Transit  and  Build- 
ing Fund  Society,  visited  the  mission,  arriving  at  Con- 
cepcion  by  way  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan.  Mrs.  Lowrey 
accompanied  the  doctor.  Their  visit  was  made  at  the 
urgent  request  of  the  committee. 

FINANCIAL    REPORT — EXPENDITURES,    SOUTH    AMERICA 

We  give  here  the  amount  expended  by  the  Committee 
on  South  America  from  July  i,  1884,  when  the  Transit 
and  Building  Fund  Society  was  incorporated,  till  Decem- 
ber 31,  1887.  The  report  gives  the  cost  value  of  each 
property  and  the  indebtedness  remaining  unpaid.  The 
committee  adds :  "It  gives  us  great  pleasure  to  be  able  to 
state  that  a  larger  sum  than  this  could  be  realized,  if  these 
properties  were  sold." 


Santiago   College    $56,000 

Concepcion  College  16,000 

Coquimbo  School,  Church  and  Parsonage 9,000 

Iquique  School,  Church  and  Parsonage 8,000 

Colon   Missionary   Building 2,500 

$91,500 
55,000 


Balance  in  favor  of  the  South  American  Work $36,500 


io8   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 


AMOUNTS   DUE  ON   SAID  PROPERTY 

Santiago  College    $49,000 

Concepcion  College  4,000 

Coquimbo  College  2,000 

$55,000* 

The  growth  of  the  work  in  "Chile,  South  America,"  has  been 
so  great  that  our  schoolhouses  have  become  too  small  to  accom- 
modate the  pupils  desiring  admission.  We  have  now  from  800 
to  1,000  Chilean  children  under  our  tuition  and  religious  influence, 
and  the  schools  are  patronized  by  all  classes,  having  the  children 
of  the  president  of  Chile  among  the  number.  We  have  pledged 
ourselves  to  spend  between  ten  and  eleven  thousand  dollars  addi- 
tional for  that  work,  although  our  treasury  is  nearly  empty  for 
the  moment.  The  success  of  the  work  demands  the  outlay,  and 
we  have  no  doubt  that  the  church,  when  informed  of  our  need, 
will  contribute  all  the  money  required  to  carry  on  this  impor- 
tant work. 

Amounts  spent  by  the  Committee  on  the  South  American  Mis- 
sions as  given  in  Reports  Nos.  2,  3,  4,  5,  and  9* 

REPORT  No.  3    (Partial — For   South  America  only) 
Expenditures  from  July  I,  1884,  to  February  16,  1885..     $4,299.31 

REPORT  No.  4   (Partial — For  South  America  only) 

Expenditures  from  February  16,  1885,  to  February  5, 

1886     $14,075.21 

REPORT  No.  5   (Partial — For   South  America  only) 

Expenditures  from  February  5,  1886,  to  June  10,  1887 — 

Tquique  School  Building $31631.78 

Santiago    College — Furnishing    4,005.09 

(Boys'  school)  Concepcion,  Colegio  Americano 835.80 

South  America    (not  specified) 8,411.49 


*  The   indebtedness   was  afterward  all   canceled   by   the    Committee.      Mr. 
Anderson   Fowler  gave  the  $49,000  which  he  had  advanced  as  a  loan. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          109 

REPORT  No.  9   (Partial — For  South  America  only) 
Expenditures  from  June  10,  1887,  to  March  24,  1888 — 

South  America   (not  specified) $6,436.07 

Coquimbo  Chapel  2,020.25 

Coquimbo  School  425.21 

Office  Furniture  130.50 

COPIAPO 

It  seems  that  Dr.  Lowrey  did  not  visit  Copiapo.  Early 
in  the  year  Clifford  Scott,  who  was  in  charge  of  the  sta- 
tion, wrote  to  Mr.  LaFetra  about  the  impossibility  of 
supporting  evangelistic  work  in  the  Spanish  language 
under  the  self-support  plan.  He  declared  his  purpose  to 
leave  the  mission  unless  a  change  could  be  made  that 
would  permit  it  to  be  administered  according  to  the  meth- 
ods used  by  the  parent  Missionary  Society.  The  situation 
which  had  become  very  difficult  because  the  copper  min- 
ing had  gone  down  was  rendered  more  difficult  still  be- 
cause of  the  fact  that  an  English  lady  had  opened  a  rival 
school.  It  appears  that  before  Dr.  Lowrey  arrived  on  the 
coast  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Scott  and  Miss  Nettie  Ogden  had 
left  for  the  States.  Mrs.  Vasbinder  remained  at  Copiapo, 
and  for  some  years  continued  a  small  school  on  her  own 
account.  Later  the  Presbyterians  started  working  in 
Copiapo,  and  the  Methodists  have  never  reopened  work 
there. 

The  full  report  of  Dr.  Lowrey  shows  that  he  laid  much 
stress  on  having  regularly  organized  Methodist  churches. 
He  little  realized  the  difficulties  in  the  way,  and  especially 
if  the  work  were  made  sectarian  in  character.  He  reports 
his  efforts  in  organizing  Methodist  churches  at  the  dif- 
ferent stations.  In  reporting  Concepcion  he  says:  "We 
organized  a  Methodist  Episcopal  church  according  to  our 
Discipline,  with  thirteen  members."  The  church  was 


no   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

composed  of  the  nine  missionaries,  two  of  whom  were 
clergymen,  three  young  ladies  who  were  educated  in  the 
girls'  school,  and  a  young  German.  What  was  accom- 
plished by  it  ?  Before  his  report  was  published  the  church 
was  without  a  minister,  one  of  the  two  had  gone  to 
Argentina  with  his  wife  and  family,  and  the  other  to  the 
States.  One  missionary  teacher  had  died  and  another  had 
gone  to  Santiago,  as  had  also  the  young  German.  Two 
of  the  three  young  ladies  were  gone,  leaving  only  three 
missionary  lady  teachers  and  one  student.  The  organiza- 
tion had  come  to  nothing.  But  in  the  community  there 
was  quite  a  British  colony,  the  members  of  which,  though 
not  willing  to  join  a  Methodist  church  and  obey  the  rules 
in  regard  to  theater-going  and  abstinence  from  the  use 
of  wines,  were  willing  to  attend  services  and  help  sup- 
port them. 

EVENTS  OF  1888 

During  the  first  months  of  the  year,  about  six  months 
after  the  visit  of  Dr.  Lowrey,  the  mission  suffered  a  very 
great  depletion  in  its  forces. 

The  Rev.  Oscar  von  Barchwitz-Krauser  and  Mrs. 
Krauser  separated  from  the  mission.  Miss  Corbin  and 
Miss  Hanlon  returned  to  the  States. 

Miss  Lee  retired  from  the  mission  to  be  married,  and 
Miss  Sears  passed  to  the  better  land.  She  fell  a  victim 
to  the  cholera,  which  appeared  on  the  west  coast  and 
caused  the  death  of  many. 

The  Rev.  W.  T.  Robinson  and  wife  went  to  Argentina. 
Miss  Rose  Williams  returned  to  the  United  States,  as  did 
also  the  Rev.  Ira  Ross.  Appointed  by  Dr.  Lowrey  in 
charge  of  the  evangelistic  work,  Mr.  Ross  labored  about 
seven  months.  The  need  of  missionaries  to  replace 
those  who  had  gone,  made  still  greater  by  the  transfer 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          in 

of  Miss  McDermott  to  Santiago,  was  so  great  that  those 
remaining  out  of  their  scant  means  contributed  to  pay 
the  passage  home  of  Mr.  Ross,  that  he  might  secure  reen- 
forcements,  and  also,  if  possible,  funds  with  which  to 
provide  a  suitable  building  for  the  girls'  school.  He  failed 
to  secure  funds  and  did  not  return  to  the  field.  After  a 
few  months  of  sickness  Miss  Mary  Knoll  passed  to  her 
eternal  reward.  Thus  of  the  ten  missionaries  at  this  sta- 
tion nine  months  before,  at  the  time  of  Dr.  Lowrey's  visit, 
not  a  man  remained,  and  only  four  women,  two  in  each 
school. 

REENFORCEMENTS 

February  u,  1888,  the  Rev.  James  Benge  and  Mrs. 
Benge  arrived  at  Iquique.  He  was  given  charge  of  the 
English  church  work  which  Brother  Gilliland  had  organ- 
ized, and  also  the  work  among  the  sailors  in  the  bay. 

Brother  Gilliland  still  continued  his  labors  in  connec- 
tion with  the  school,  which  had  increased  in  attendance. 
But  relieved  of  the  work  taken  over  by  Brother  Benge, 
he  commenced  services  in  Spanish  for  Chileans,  Peru- 
vians, and  any  others  of  the  Spanish  tongue. 

PROPERTY 

In  order  to  provide  two  separate  departments  at  Co- 
quimbo,  one  for  boys  and  the  other  for  girls,  extensive 
additions  were  made  to  the  school  property,  at  a  cost 
of  $5,500  gold. 

THE  FIRST  DECADE — OUTSTANDING  FEATURES 

On  July  i,  1888,  ten  years  had  passed  since  the  first 
party  of  nine  missionaries  sailed  from  New  York.  Of 
that  number  Ira  H.  LaFetra  only  remained.  He  was  the 
superintendent  of  the  mission,  and  had  been  almost  from 


the  first.  Many  had  come  and  gone.  Of  those  who  came 
out  during  the  first  years  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gilliland,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Compton,  and  Miss  Kinsman  only  remained.  They 
were  successful  and  consecrated  workers. 

The  war  broke  out  within  a  year  after  the  first  mis- 
sionaries arrived  and  lasted  over  four  years.  The  sta- 
tions at  Guayaquil  and  Colon  were  the  only  ones  not  sit- 
uated within  the  war  zone.  All  the  stations  in  Peru  and 
Bolivia  had  to  be  abandoned. 

Later  came  the  cholera,  which  affected  the  whole  coast. 
Many  died,  and  business  was  paralyzed  to  a  considerable 
extent. 

Brother  Birdsall  began  work  at  Aspinwall,  Colon.  He 
lived  but  a  short  time.  Brother  Latham  took  up  the 
work,  but  did  not  remain  long.  Later  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Smith,  a  Wesleyan,  labored  there  and  the  work  was 
turned  over  to  that  church. 

Guayaquil  was  abandoned  after  Brother  Price  had  la- 
bored there  a  few  months. 

Brother  Gilliland  labored  at  Logos  Islands  and  at 
Lima,  Peru,  but  both  places  were  abandoned.  Some 
time  after  Gilliland  left  Lima  Brother  Baxter  labored  at 
Callao,  and  that  place  was  abandoned  later. 

MOLLENDO 

Where  Brother  Magnus  Smith  started  a  mission  sta- 
tion, and  where  he  lost  his  life  through  fever  and  expos- 
ure due  to  the  war,  had  to  be  abandoned,  and  was  never 
reopened.  And  Tacna  also  had  to  be  abandoned  as  a 
result  of  difficulties  due  to  the  war. 

The  flourishing  mission  station  at  Antofagasta,  Bo- 
livia, among  the  first  to  be  opened,  had  to  be  given  up 
on  account  of  the  war.  The  places  in  Chile  where  the 
work  had  to  be  abandoned  were  Copiapo  and  Caldera, 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          113 

situated  in  the  northern  part.  The  first  of  these  had  been 
for  years  one  of  the  most  important  stations,  having  both 
church  and  school  work. 

The  Bethel  Work  at  Valparaiso,  begun  by  Ira  LaFetra 
and  carried  on  later  by  Brothers  Jeffrey  and  Krauser  for 
about  six  years,  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  American 
Seaman's  Society;  thus  it  was  an  abandoned  station  of 
the  Methodist  Mission. 

The  Union  Church  in  Santiago,  started  in  1889  by 
Brother  LaFetra,  was  left  without  a  pastor  by  the  de- 
parture of  Lucius  Smith  for  Mexico.  The  Presbyterians 
provided  the  church  with  a  pastor,  and  the  work  was 
lost  to  Methodism.  It  can  hardly  be  said  that  the  Spanish 
work  in  Santiago  was  abandoned,  for  it  really  never 
became  established.  Lucius  Smith  was  well  prepared 
to  speak  in  Spanish,  but  the  services  which  he  tried  to 
conduct  in  Santiago  were  broken  up  by  fierce  mobs. 

The  evangelistic  work  which  Brothers  Krauser  and 
Hoffman  had  opened  among  the  Germans  in  Valdivia, 
Osorno,  and  Lake  Llanquihue,  and  by  Brother  Griewe 
at  Contulmo,  failed  and  had  to  be  abandoned.  And  the 
services  started  by  Brother  von  Barchwitz-Krauser  in 
Valparaiso,  and  by  Brother  Ebert  in  Santiago,  among 
the  Germans  were  in  each  case  soon  passed  over  to  Ger- 
man Lutheran  pastors. 

That  is  a  sad  story  of  abandoned  stations,  but  several 
of  them  would  have  been  abandoned  just  the  same  even 
had  the  missionaries  been  supported  by  the  parent  Board. 
The  causes  which  led  to  the  giving  up  of  the  other  sta- 
tions were  due  in  part  to  the  impossibility  of  sustaining 
a  self-supporting  missionary  work  under  such  conditions 
as  existed  in  the  stations  where  such  work  was  inaugu- 
rated. It  was  due  to  a  considerable  extent  to  the  inca- 
pacity or  inadapability  of  some  of  the  missionaries  to  the 


ii4   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

work  to  which  they  were  assigned.  It  was  due  in  part  to 
the  shortness  in  the  period  of  service  given  by  some  of 
the  missionaries.  During  the  decade  three  of  the  mis- 
sionaries had  died  after  a  short  service,  and  about  sixty 
had  left  the  field.  The  average  time  of  service  of  the 
sixty  was  about  three  years  and  two  months.  Quite  a 
number  of  missionaries  were  sent  out  pledged  to  give 
three  years  of  service  only.  Others  had  not  the  ability 
to  gain  a  support  under  the  hard  conditions  which  pre- 
vailed. A  few  felt  dissatisfied  because  they  could  not 
enter  more  vigorously  into  an  evangelistic  propaganda 
which  would  have  given  more  immediate  visible  results. 
A  religious  propaganda  would  have  caused  some  of  the 
fathers  to  take  their  children  from  the  schools,  thus 
reducing  the  income  by  which  the  missionaries  were 
supported. 

Was  the  labor  all  lost,  then,  in  the  stations  which  were 
discontinued?  Surely  not,  for  many  souls  were  brought 
to  a  knowledge  of  salvation,  and  much  good  seed  was 
sown  which  brought  and  will  still  bring  forth  sheaves 
for  the  great  harvest. 

The  writer  has  received  the  testimony  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  persons  which  shows  the  still  abiding  influence 
of  the  work  done  in  the  stations  abandoned.  Much  was 
lost — not  all  was  lost. 

WHAT  REMAINED 

The  stations  which  remained  and  the  work  which  was 
still  being  carried  on  in  the  William  Taylor  Self-Sup- 
porting Missions  on  the  west  coast  of  South  America 
after  ten  years  of  labor  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 

Missionary  Forces — At  Iquique.  The  Rev.  and  Mrs. 
Gilliland,  Miss  Leach  and  Miss  Wakeman,  the  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  Benge. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          115 

At  Coquimbo.  The  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Compton,  Miss 
Mary  Fuller,  and  Miss  Emily  Day. 

At  Santiago.  The  Rev.  and  Mrs.  LaFetra,  T.  W. 
LaFetra,  Misses  Mabel  Curtis,  Fannie  Freestone,  Alice 
Baldwin,  Lillie  Mathewson,  Mary  Bray. 

At  Concepcion.  Miss  Rebecca  Hammond,  Mrs.  Ira 
Ross,  Miss  Emma  Bard,  and  Miss  Emma  Grant. 

At  Angol.    The  Rev.  Mr.  Griewe  and  Mrs.  Griewe. 

Twenty-two  missionaries  remained  out  of  more  than 
eighty  who  came  out. 

Churches — At  Iquique.  A  church  in  the  city  and 
Bethel  work  in  the  bay  for  the  sailors.  The  pastor  gives 
his  whole  time  and  is  supported  by  the  community.  Serv- 
ices well  attended. 

At  Coquimbo.  A  church  supported  by  the  community. 
This  church  has  been  successfully  supported  by  the  people 
since  it  was  started  ten  years  ago  by  Brother  Higgins, 
who  came  out  in  the  first  party  of  missionaries  who  came 
to  the  Taylor  Missions. 

Schools — At  Concepcion.  Three  missionaries  of  the 
first  party  which  sailed  started  the  schools  at  Concepcion. 
At  first  the  boys  and  girls  met  in  the  same  building,  and 
the  school  was  counted  as  one.  After  a  year  and  a  half 
a  separation  was  made,  the  girls  going  to  another  house 
some  blocks  away.  Throughout  the  decade  the  schools 
in  general  were  fairly  successful,  but  during  the  last  year 
the  teachers  were  reduced  from  ten  to  four,  and  pupils 
and  income  were  greatly  reduced. 

At  Coquimbo.  Miss  Rachel  Holding  arrived  in  1882, 
and  started  the  school  which  grew  to  be  a  large  school. 
The  boys  and  girls  were  separated  here  also,  so  the  school 
came  to  be  really  two  schools.  Owing  to  the  decadence 
of  the  mining  interests,  causing  a  decrease  in  the  British 
colony  and  in  the  business  interests  of  the  province, 


ii6   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

the  school  was  not  so  well  sustained  as  in  previous 
years. 

At  Iquique.  The  school  started  by  Brother  Collier  in 
1878,  closed  by  the  war,  and  reopened  by  Brother  Gilli- 
land  in  1884,  had  in  three  years  reached  a  very  prosper- 
ous condition. 

At  Angol.  The  Rev.  W.  F.  Griewe  and  Mrs.  Griewe 
have  a  school  at  Angol  which  was  opened  in  March,  1887. 

At  Santiago.  At  Santiago  were  the  LaFetras ;  he  with 
his  splendid  gifts  as  an  organizer  and  business  manager 
and  she  with  her  fine  training  and  intellectual  endow- 
ments, both  highly  cultured  Christian  people,  had  founded 
and  built  up  a  great  institution  of  learning.  Speaking 
of  the  college,  Las  Novidades,  of  Santiago,  said,  "This 
favored  establishment  of  education  is  the  best  of  its  class 
in  South  America." 

Mr.  LaFetra  pays  high  tribute  to  the  teachers  who  by 
their  "ability,  devotion,  and  earnest  labors"  aided  in  the 
success  of  the  college.  He  mentions  his  brother,  Profes- 
sor T.  W.  LaFetra,  J.  M.  Vincent,  George  H.  Farwell, 
and  the  women  teachers,  Lizzie  Kipp,  Rosina  Kinsman, 
Lizzie  Holding,  Mary  F.  Lee,  Fannie  Freestone,  Alice 
Baldwin,  Hannah  Johnson,  Mabel  Curtis,  and  Lilian 
Mathewson. 

Property,  The  properties  which  had  been  acquired 
during  the  decade  were  the  following: 

At  Iquique.  A  corner  lot  37  x  126  feet,  with  building 
for  chapel,  parsonage,  and  school  had  been  purchased 
at  a  cost  of  $6,000  (United  States  money).  Three  fourths 
of  the  cost  was  provided  by  the  Transit  and  Building 
Fund  Society,  and  the  balance  was  paid  by  Brother  Gilli- 
land  from  the  earnings  of  the  school. 

Coquimbo.  The  first  property  secured  for  the  William 
Taylor  Mission  was  the  lot  purchased  on  Calle  Melgarejo, 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         117 

Coquimbo,  for  the  school.  The  lot  was  68  x  126  feet, 
and  on  it  was  built  a  two-story  building  with  two  wings, 
one  half  of  the  building  serving  for  the  school  for  boys 
and  the  other  for  the  girls.  The  property  cost  about 
$12,000,  three  fourths  of  the  cost  being  provided  by  the 
committee. 

The  second  property  of  the  mission  in  Coquimbo  was 
for  a  church  and  parsonage,  costing  about  $9,000.  One 
third  of  cost  was  paid  by  the  committee  and  the  balance 
raised  among  the  people  of  the  community. 

Santiago.  A  large  corner  lot,  finely  situated,  was  pur- 
chased, on  which  a  splendid  building  was  erected  for  the 
girls'  college.  The  total  cost  was  $70,000  (United  States 
money),  of  which  $48,600  was  provided  by  Anderson 
Fowler,  of  the  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society,  at 
first  as  a  loan,  but  afterward  made  a  gift. 

Concepcion.  At  the  end  of  the  decade  the  mission  pos- 
sessed one  other  property.  At  Concepcion  a  corner  lot 
98  x  198  feet  had  been  purchased  on  the  main  street,  at 
a  cost  of  $5,000,  and  a  building  had  been  erected  for  the 
school  for  boys  at  a  cost  of  $7,000.  The  Committee  of 
the  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society  provided  $7,000, 
one  half  of  which  was  the  gift  of  the  treasurer,  Richard 
Grant;  the  balance,  $5,000,  remained  as  a  debt  on  the 
property. 

The  total  value  of  the  properties  was  $104,000. 

Printing  Press.  In  1881  the  mission  had  acquired  a 
small  job  press,  costing  with  type  and  other  requisites 
$972.50.  This  had  served  to  print  circulars,  reports,  etc., 
for  the  schools;  and  a  small  amount  of  tracts  had  been 
published.  Small  additions  had  been  made  from  time 
to  time  to  the  outfit. 


ii8   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  MISSION  FROM 
FOUR  CENTERS 

THE  second  period  extends  from  the  end  of  the  first 
decade  to  the  end  of  1903,  when  the  mission  ceased  to 
be  administered  on  the  self-support  plan. 

The  first  decade  closed  leaving  the  work  of  the  mis- 
sion, with  the  single  exception  of  the  school  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Griewe  in  Angol,  limited  to  the  cities  of  Iquique, 
Coquimbo,  Santiago,  and  Concepcion,  and  it  is  noticeable 
that  in  these  cities  the  mission  had  properties  and  in  no 
others,  as  the  small  property  at  Panama  was  passed  over 
to  the  Wesleyans  with  that  station.  The  remaining  sta- 
tion which  had  no  property  was  the  semi-independent 
school  of  the  Rev.  W.  Griewe  at  Angol,  and  that  station 
was  abandoned  eighteen  months  later  when  the  Chilean 
government  established  in  that  city  a  liceo — a  free  school. 
Brother  Griewe's  patronage  was  from  the  liberals,  and 
they  were  interested  in  having  the  liceo  succeed  so  as  to 
keep  the  boys  and  girls  from  attending  the  schools  of 
the  monks  and  nuns.  Losing  the  patronage  of  the  lib- 
erals, Brother  Griewe  had  to  close  his  school.  With 
admirable  pluck  he  went  to  Talca,  the  largest  city  between 
Santiago  and  Concepcion,  and  famous  as  being  intensely 
Roman  Catholic.  There  he  started  a  school  and  secured 
a  fair  attendance.  The  priests  tried  to  drive  him  out. 
They  forbade  the  parents  to  send  their  children  to  his 
school.  They  refused  to  give  absolution  to  those  who 
sent  their  children.  Some  of  the  mothers  went  to  Santi- 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          119 

ago  to  confess.  The  priests  appealed  to  the  archbishop  to 
prohibit  them  from  going  outside  of  their  parish  for 
confession.  One  mother  told  her  confessor  that  her 
children  were  learning  much  better  in  Mr.  Griewe's 
school  and  that  she  would  not  take  them  out;  and  that 
if  he  did  not  grant  her  confession,  the  responsibility 
would  rest  upon  him.  To  get  the  children  from  him, 
the  next  year  a  very  rich  man,  a  devoted  Catholic,  gave 
a  large  sum  of  money  that  the  priests  or  monks  and 
nuns  might  start  an  opposition  school  with  American 
Catholic  teachers.  Thus  his  patronage  was  largely 
cut  off. 

He  had  done  what  he  could.  He  had  made  a  brave 
fight  to  give  the  knowledge  of  salvation  to  the  German 
colonists  in  Contulmo,  among  the  few  English  and  the 
Chileans  in  Angol,  and  to  the  people  in  Talca.  Mrs. 
Griewe  had  been  a  most  faithful,  competent,  and  self- 
sacrificing  helper.  They  had  no  aid  from  the  States. 
They  were  entirely  on  self-support.  Had  they  been 
alone,  the  problem  would  have  been  easier,  but  there  were 
several  children  to  support,  and  whose  future  must  be 
considered.  Under  conditions  so  difficult  after  eight 
years  of  noble  service  they  returned  to  the  States. 

The  mission,  hoping  to  conserve  some  of  the  fruits  of 
Brother  Griewe's  labors,  appointed  Miss  Emma  Bard,  an 
excellent  teacher,  to  continue  the  school  at  Talca.  Being 
a  single  person,  it  would  take  much  less  to  support  her 
than  Mr.  Griewe  and  family.  But  after  a  year  the  field 
had  to  be  abandoned. 

Thus  the  Taylor  Mission  became  limited  to  the  four 
cities  where  there  were  properties,  and  from  which  as 
centers  the  work  of  the  mission  developed.  We  will  now 
undertake  to  give  the  history  of  the  development  from 
each  of  these  centers. 


120   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

THE  SCHOOLS 

Iquique — July,  1888,  to  December,  1903.  The  Rev. 
J.  P.  Gilliland,  who  founded  the  school  in  1884,  and 
under  whose  administration  it  was  highly  successful, 
continued  in  charge  until  about  the  middle  of  the  year 
1889,  when  he  returned  to  the  States  on  a  vacation.  The 
Rev.  W.  C.  Hoover  and  Mrs.  Hoover  came  out  to  Iqui- 
que to  teach  early  in  1889.  On  the  departure  of  Brother 
Gilliland  Mr.  Hoover  took  charge  of  the  school,  and  for 
five  years  it  remained  under  his  direction.  The  school 
property  was  situated  near  the  center  of  the  city  and 
close  to  the  business  section.  The  school  had  far  out- 
grown its  accommodations  even  while  Brother  Gilliland 
was  still  in  charge.  The  rapid  growth  of  the  city  had  led 
to  the  opening  up  of  a  new  section.  Brother  Hoover 
succeeded  in  exchanging  the  school  lot  and  building  for 
a  very  large  new  lot,  giving  ample  playgrounds,  beautiful 
for  situation,  and  of  easy  access  by  the  street  cars.  The 
Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society  made  a  grant  of 
$20,000,  and  a  splendid  large  new  school  building  was 
erected. 

Brother  Gilliland  and  his  associates  were  very  zealous 
in  pushing  the  evangelistic  work,  and  it  was  the  same 
with  Brother  Hoover,  among  the  students  and  in  the 
community.  The  latter  acquired  the  Spanish  language 
readily.  At  the  end  of  five  years,  in  1894,  he  returned 
to  the  States  for  a  vacation.  Charles  S.  Winans,  who 
for  some  time  had  been  his  chief  assistant,  became  direc- 
tor, or  principal.  He  held  the  position  till  his  retirement 
from  the  mission  in  1903,  except  for  the  year  he  passed 
in  the  States,  when  George  B.  Benedict  was  principal. 

During  the  years  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gilliland  and  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Hoover  were  in  charge  the  school  was  so  pros- 


PQ 


h 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         121 

perous  that 'the  income  more  than  covered  the  running 
expenses.  The  surplus  was  used  for  school  equipment 
and  the  enlarging  and  improving  of  the  school  property. 
But  when  the  evangelistic  work  was  begun  among  the 
Chileans  the  surplus  was  largely  devoted  to  the  support 
of  the  pastor  engaged  in  that  work.  Later  the  number 
of  pupils  in  attendance  was  less,  and  some  years  the 
income  was  not  sufficient  to  cover  the  expenses.  A  rival 
English  school,  and  the  establishment  by  the  government 
of  a  practically  free  school  of  high  grade  under  the 
direction  of  a  distinguished  teacher,  did  much  to  lessen 
the  prosperity  of  our  Iquique  school.  But  notwithstand- 
ing all  the  difficulties  it  was  able  to  do  a  splendid  work. 
Two  of  the  young  men  educated  there  continued  their 
studies  in  Northwestern  University,  paying  their  own 
way,  and  afterward  returned  to  labor  with  the  mission- 
aries in  the  evangelization  of  this  continent. 

Coquimbo.  The  Rev.  Harry  Compton  and  Mrs  Comp- 
ton,  who  came  to  Coquimbo  in  1885,  continued  in  charge 
of  the  school  till  August,  1889,  when  he  went  to  the  States 
and  entered  Boston  University  School  of  Theology.  Mrs. 
Compton  continued  in  the  school  till  the  end  of  the  year. 
The  Rev.  Adrian  Allan  was  director  for  the  year  1889, 
then  he  went  to  Concepcion.  The  Rev.  Wilbur  F.  Albright 
was  in  charge  for  three  years,  till  appointed  pastor  of  the 
Serena  Spanish-speaking  church.  Miss  Mary  Bray  was 
then  transferred  from  Santiago  College  to  take  charge 
of  the  Coquimbo  school. 

The  copper  mining  of  the  province  had  nearly  ceased, 
and  the  railroad  of  the  province,  which  was  owned  and 
operated  by  Britishers,  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
Chilean  government.  The  English  colony  had  become 
greatly  reduced.  To  make  matters  worse  in  this  small 
community,  a  rival  English  school  had  been  opened. 


122   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

Under  these  conditions  the  attendance  at  our  school 
became  very  small  and  the  expenses  could  not  be  met. 
The  rules  of  the  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society 
forbade  the  payment  of  salaries  from  their  funds.  The 
missionaries  in  the  other  schools  had  become  intensely 
interested  in  the  evangelistic  work  among  the  natives, 
which  work  could  be  maintained  only  by  the  support 
given  to  it  from  the  schools.  The  outlook  at  Coquimbo 
was  so  discouraging  that  the  teachers  at  other  points 
were  unwilling  to  cut  off  the  evangelistic  work  which 
they  were  sustaining  in  order  to  continue  the  Coquimbo 
school.  They  thought  it  better  to  let  the  school  be  closed. 
Hence  the  commodious  school  building,  a  property  for 
which  William  Taylor  raised  the  money,  and  in  the  con- 
struction of  which  he  labored  with  his  own  hands,  ceased 
to  be  used  for  school  purposes.  It  was  rented  for  a  few 
years  and  then  sold. 

Serena.  The  persecution  which  fell  upon  those  in 
Serena  who  received  the  gospel  of  Christ  was  extended 
to  their  children  who  attended  the  schools.  Thus  a  school 
for  the  children  of  our  church  members  became  a  neces- 
sity. Miss  Eva  Schults  was  appointed  to  open  a  school 
in  1890,  and  continued  in  charge  two  or  three  years. 
Miss  Emma  Bard  had  charge  for  one  year.  As  the  per- 
secution had  largely  ceased  and  funds  were  lacking,  the 
school  was  then  discontinued. 

Santiago.  During  the  whole  of  the  second  ten-year 
period  Santiago  College  remained  under  the  administra- 
tion of  its  founders,  the  Rev.  Ira  H.  LaFetra  and  Mrs. 
Adelaide  Whitefield  LaFetra,  who  had  brought  it  to 
such  high  success  as  a  Christian  school.  The  statistics 
at  hand  give  the  financial  movement  for  the  first  five 
years  only  of  the  second  period.  During  that  time  the 
income  of  the  school  was  sufficient  to  pay  the  salaries  of 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          123 

the  missionary  teachers,  all  the  running  expenses,  and 
leave  a  surplus  of  about  $25,000.  A  part  of  this  surplus 
was  wisely  used  in  furnishing  the  institution  with  bet- 
ter equipment  and  in  raising  it  to  a  still  higher  grade, 
aiding  it  to  hold  the  place  won  in  the  estimation  of  the 
public  as  the  best  educational  institution  for  young  ladies 
in  the  Spanish-speaking  Americas. 

The  rest  of  the  surplus  of  over  $10,000  was  devoted 
to  the  support  of  those  engaged  in  evangelistic  work 
among  the  natives. 

Concepcion.  Of  the  fourteen  stations  started  by  the 
missionaries  sent  out  in  1878  and  1879  Concepcion  and 
Coquimbo  are  the  only  stations  in  which  the  work  has 
gone  on  without  interruption.  Santiago  would  be  in- 
cluded, but  that  station  was  not  started  till  1880. 

The  English-speaking  community  of  Concepcion  was 
small.  Church  services  were  maintained  only  at  inter- 
vals. The  schools  for  boys  and  for  girls  were  able  to 
secure  sufficient  patronage  to  maintain  themselves.  At 
no  time,  however,  could  the  work  have  been  called  a 
real  success.  Without  doubt  this  was  due  in  part  to  the 
frequent  changes  in  the  missionary  forces.  The  first 
principal  of  the  school  and  one  of  the  two  teachers  left 
within  two  and  a  half  years.  The  former's  successor 
remained  two  years.  The  third  principal  remained  but 
two  years  and  the  fourth  only  three.  Several  of  the 
teachers  gave  but  one,  others  but  two  years'  service.  Of 
the  ten  missionaries  at  the  station  in  1887  only  four  re- 
mained in  May,  1888;  one  of  the  four  was  in  bad  health 
and  left  four  months  later,  as  did  another  teacher  whose 
husband  had  gone. 

The  attendance  of  pupils  at  the  boys'  school,  called 
"Colegio  Americano,"  was  small,  though  it  was  double 
that  at  the  girls'  school.  Not.  only  were  the  pupils  few 


124   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

but  many  of  them  were  paying  very  little,  the  school 
receiving  the  children  who  offered  themselves,  though 
the  parents  were  able  to  pay  but  a  part  of  the  regular 
tuition.  The  cholera  which  appeared  along  the  coast  the 
previous  year  had  made  the  situation  much  worse. 

Colegio  Americano  had  its  own  school  building  but 
with  a  debt  that  required  $600  a  year  to  pay  the  interest. 
The  rent  for  the  girls'  school  required  another  $600. 
Interest,  rents,  insurance,  repairs,  furnishings,  the  sal- 
aries of  teachers,  including  missionaries,  and  all  running 
expenses  had  to  be  met  from  the  income  of  the  schools. 
The  situation  was  critical.  It  was  nearly  impossible  to 
keep  the  girls'  school  running.  The  missionary  teachers 
received  no  salary  and  the  other  teachers  continued  on 
part  salary  till  they  could  do  better. 

The  Rev.  W.  T.  Robinson  and  Mrs.  Robinson  had  left 
for  Argentina  in  January,  Miss  Knowles  had  died,  and 
other  missionaries  had  gone  from  Concepcion.  There 
remained  but  four  missionaries — all  women.  Up  to  July 
24  LaFetra,  Lemoine,  and  Compton  had  each  in  turn 
spent  some  time  in  Concepcion  trying  to  help  out.  The 
situation  was  desperate.  To  save  the  schools  an  urgent 
call  for  reenforcements  was  made. 

A  NEW  ERA 

The  call  reached  the  writer  and  Mrs.  Ida  Taggard 
Arms.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Wesleyan  University, 
had  served  eight  years  as  a  member  of  the  Vermont  Con- 
ference, and  was  then  pastor  of  the  important  Methodist 
Church  at  Newport,  Vermont.  Mrs.  Arms  was  a  gradu- 
ate of  the  Vermont  Methodist  Seminary  and  Female 
College  and  had  won  a  high  reputation  as  a  teacher. 
They  sailed  from  New  York  June  n  with  their  little 
three-year-old  daughter,  Olive,  and  arrived  at  Concep- 


125 

cion  July  24.  There  sailed  with  them  Miss  Eva  Schultz, 
Mrs.  Sarah  Webster,  Mr.  Hurlbert,  and  Miss  Rosina 
Kinsman,  who  was  returning  after  a  furlough,  she  hav- 
ing given  five  years  of  service  at  Santiago.  Miss  Kins- 
man remained  at  Iqnique;  Miss  Schultz,  Mrs.  Webster, 
and  Mr.  Hurlbert  remained  at  Santiago  awaiting  definite 
appointments.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arms  began  work  at  once. 
Fortunately,  he  brought  out  with  him  private  funds,  and 
thus  the  immediate  financial  embarrassment  was  some- 
what relieved.  Still  the  situation  was  most  difficult. 
The  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society  appointed  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Arms  in  charge  of  Colegio  Americano,  the 
school  for  boys,  but  it  made  him  also  the  head  and  respon- 
sible person  in  charge  of  the  girls'  school.  Miss  Rebecca 
Hammond  had  been  in  charge  as  preceptress  of  the  girls' 
school  for  four  years,  but  her  health  became  so  impaired 
that  she  could  not  remain.  The  Rev.  Ira  Ross  had  gone 
to  the  States  to  secure  aid,  and  circumstances  prevented 
his  return.  Mrs.  Ross  and  their  two  children  had  to  go 
to  him.  Hence  they  sailed  in  forty  days  after  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Arms  arrived.  Thus  of  the  ten  missionaries  of  the 
previous  year  only  Miss  Grant  and  Miss  Bard  remained 
to  aid  those  who  had  been  given  charge.  During  the 
long,  hard  sea  voyage  Mrs.  Arms  continually  suffered. 
A  gastric  fever  was  brought  on  which  caused  a  serious 
sickness.  Before  she  recovered  Miss  Grant  fell  sick.  In 
these  straits  Mr.  LaFetra  sent  as  reenforcements  from 
Santiago  Mr.  Hurlbert  and  Miss  Schultz. 

Mr.  Hurlbert  was  not  prepared  to  teach,  and  there  was 
no  church  to  support  him  as  a  preacher.  He  returned  to 
the  States  in  a  few  months.  At  the  end  of  the  year  Miss 
Schultz  was  transferred  to  Serena  to  take  charge  of  the 
parochial  school  there.  Mrs.  Arms  had  recovered  her 
health  and  soon  gave  evidence  that  she  was  fully  capable 


of  maintaining  the  splendid  reputation  she  had  won  as  a 
teacher  in  the  States.  With  more  pupils  in  the  boys' 
school  its  income  was  better  and  the  missionaries  teach- 
ing there  generously  shared  what  they  received  with  those 
in  the  girls'  school,  so  that  each  received  about  $125  for 
the  year  besides  board. 

The  new  year,  1889,  began  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arms 
and  Miss  Emma  Bard  in  Colegio  Americano.  Miss  Bard 
had  given  two  years'  service  and  was  a  capable  and 
faithful  teacher. 

A  word  in  regard  to  the  Concepcion  School  property. 
Dr.  Lowrey  in  his  report  says :  "We  have  purchased  a  lot 
in  Concepcion  in  an  excellent  location.  The  lot  is  95  x  188 
feet.  On  it  we  have  erected  a  building  90  x  35  feet  for 
a  boys'  school.  We  have  arranged  to  erect  an  edifice  for 
the  girls'  school  on  the  other  end  of  the  lot.  In  the  new 
building  a  commodious  chapel  will  be  a  part  of  the 
structure." 

The  plan  of  having  the  girls'  school  on  the  same  lot 
with  that  of  the  boys  was  opposed  by  every  missionary 
at  the  station  except  Mr.  Robinson,  yet  he  won  the  direc- 
tors of  the  Society  in  New  York  to  his  view.  With  money 
which  they  provided  he  laid  the  foundations  and  started 
building  the  walls.  Though  he  had  left  the  mission  the 
directors  instructed  Mr.  Arms  to  go  on  and  complete 
the  edifice  on  the  plans  of  Mr.  Robinson.  Seven  thou- 
sand five  hundred  dollars  was  provided  for  that  purpose. 

After  consulting  with  Brother  LaFetra,  the  superin- 
tendent of  the  mission,  some  minor  changes  were  made 
in  the  plan  and  work  was  begun  in  January,  1889,  under 
the  direction  of  Mr.  Arms,  who  availed  himself  of  an 
interpreter  for  a  few  weeks  till  enough  Spanish  was 
acquired  to  enable  the  men  to  understand  each  other. 
Nothing  was  done  toward  building  the  wings  which  were 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         127 

designed  for  dining  room,  kitchen,  and  servants'  rooms. 
Working  through  the  vacation  months  of  January  and 
February,  a  part  of  the  building  was  ready  for  the  school 
in  March,  when  the  new  school  year  began.  Teaching 
all  day,  the  care  of  the  boarding  pupils  outside  of  school 
hours,  and  his  services  as  pastor  of  the  only  English 
church  so  taxed  Mr.  Arms's  time  that  work  on  the  sec- 
ond story  for  dormitories  was  suspended.  Work  on  the 
chapel  was  continued,  and  later  it  was  dedicated,  Mr. 
LaFetra  coming  from  Santiago  for  the  dedication.  The 
next  year,  during  the  two  months  of  vacation,  the  dor- 
mitories were  finished.  By  this  time,  two  years  after 
the  arrival  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arms,  the  number  of  pupils 
had  nearly  doubled,  and  the  whole  of  the  building  de- 
signed for  the  girls  was  needed  for  the  boys.  This  was 
so  evident  that  the  directors  in  New  York  readily  con- 
sented to  the  use  of  the  building  for  that  purpose. 

Edwin  P.  Currier,  a  graduate  of  Wesleyan  University, 
a  nephew  of  Mr.  Arms,  arrived  in  1890  to  teach  in 
Colegio  Americano. 

FURTHER   IMPROVEMENTS 

The  new  school  building  had  to  be  furnished  and  the 
equipment  of  the  old  one  had  to  be  renovated  and  greatly 
improved  to  provide  for  the  larger  teaching  force  and 
the  increase  in  pupils.  The  expenses  for  this  were  met 
from  the  earnings  of  the  school.  Half  of  the  money  for 
the  repairs  and  improvements  on  the  former  building 
were  met  by  the  Transit  Society.  In  1891  the  Society 
gave  the  money  to  pay  off  the  mortgage  left  by  Mr.  Rob- 
inson, amounting  to  $4,000.  Thus  the  Colegio  Americano 
had  a  property  which  with  the  chapel  cost  about  $21,000 
(United  States  money).  All  but  $1,000  was  given  by 
the  Society.  But  the  property  was  worth  much  more 


128   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

than  that  amount,  as  properties  in  Concepcion  had  in- 
creased in  value. 

In  1892  Mr.  Arms  was  appointed  in  charge  of  the  girls' 
school  also.  Thus  he  had  the  general  business  manage- 
ment and  quite  a  part  of  the  bookkeeping  of  the  two 
schools.  For  lack  of  teachers  he  had  to  teach  in  the 
boys'  school  nearly  every  hour  of  the  school  day.  He 
had  also  the  work  as  pastor  of  the  only  English-speaking 
church  in  the  region.  His  time  and  strength  were  so 
overtaxed  that  his  health  was  breaking.  What  he  did 
would  have  been  impossible  but  for  the  most  efficient 
help  of  Mrs.  Arms.  He  wrote  an  appeal  for  the  com- 
mittee to  send  some  one  to  take  the  church  or  one  of 
the  schools.  The  committee  published  the  appeal,  and 
the  Rev.  Buel  O.  Campbell  responded.  He  was  a  gradu- 
ate of  Wesleyan  University,  and  a  member  of  the  New 
Hampshire  Conference.  Mrs.  Campbell  was  a  graduate 
of  the  Vermont  State  Normal  School.  By  arrangements 
with  the  superintendent,  Brother  LaFetra,  in  March, 
1893,  the  Campbells  took  charge  of  Colegio  Americano. 
They  received  the  school  entirely  free  of  debt,  with  money 
in  the  bank,  and  with  a  full  attendance  of  pupils. 

Under  Mr.  Campbell's  able  management  the  school 
continued  to  increase.  After  seven  years  of  successful 
work  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Campbell  returned  to  the  States,  and 
some  months  later  he  was  appointed  to  Puerto  Rico. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Herman  were  appointed  in  charge  of 
Colegio  Americano.  They  had  been  successful  teachers 
in  the  school  for  a  year.  The  following  year  Bishop 
McCabe  appointed  Mr.  Arms  as  the  responsible  head  of 
Colegio  Americano,  though  continuing  him  as  superin- 
tendent of  the  Southern  District  and  as  principal  of  Con- 
cepcion College  in  which  school  Mrs.  Arms  was  bearing 
the  chief  responsibility.  The  Bishop  kept  Mr.  Arms  in 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         129 

charge  for  two  years,  Mr.  Herman  remaining  as  assistant 
principal  and  Mrs.  Herman  as  preceptress.  The  Rev. 
A.  S.  Watson  was  a  very  efficient  teacher  in  the  school. 
At  the  end  of  the  year  the  following  report  was  given: 
"The  school  year  has  been  very  prosperous.  The  school 
buildings  need  to  be  enlarged  in  order  to  accommodate 
the  pupils,  the  number  of  whom  has  been  larger  than  in 
any  previous  year."  Mr.  Arms  could  not  continue  in 
charge  of  Colegio  Americano  without  giving  up  other 
work,  which  did  not  seem  advisable.  Mr.  Campbell  was 
requested  to  return  to  take  charge  of  the  school  and 
arrived  in  1903.  He  was  heartily  welcomed.  He  had 
such  a  prosperous  year  that  he  commenced  the  erection 
of  an  additional  two-story  building,  80x43  feet>  which 
he  was  able  to  construct  out  of  the  earnings  of  the  school. 
During  the  period  of  Mr.  Campbell's  administration 
there  were  many  changes  in  the  missionary  teachers  asso- 
ciated with  him.  Of  the  teachers  who  were  with  him 
the  longer  time  and  gave  valuable  services  were  the  Rev. 
and  Airs.  George  B.  Benedict,  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  B.  B. 
Keister,  Miss  Kate  Russell,  and  Miss  Cora  M.  Starr. 

CONCEPCION  COLLEGE 

We  will  now  return  to  1889  and  follow  the  progress 
of  Concepcion  College,  the  girls'  school. 

To  supply  the  places  left  vacant  by  the  return  to  the 
States  of  Miss  Hammond  and  Mrs.  Ross,  Brother 
LaFetra,  the  superintendent  of  the  mission,  appointed 
Miss  Emma  Grant  and  Miss  Elena  Neissmann,  a  teacher 
who  had  been  in  charge  of  the  kindergarten  and  had  also 
taught  German  in  both  schools.  They  had  as  assistant 
Miss  Elena  Martin,  a  fine  girl,  who  had  been  educated  in 
this  school.  Miss  Neissmann  was  very  energetic.  The 


130   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

school  had  a  good  attendance.  Miss  Emily  Day  was  in 
the  school  for  a  time  as  housekeeper  and  assistant  teacher. 
Some  time  during  the  second  year  Miss  Neissmann  was 
married  to  Mr.  George  Coleman.  During  the  third  year 
the  attendance  was  much  less,  debts  had  accrued,  and  at 
the  end  of  the  year  the  Colemans  and  Miss  Grant  stepped 
out.  Miss  Day  had  gone  and  Miss  Martin  had  married. 
Thus  the  school  was  left  with  no  teachers. 

Mr.  LaFetra  was  in  the  States,  and  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Gilli- 
land  was  the  superintendent  of  the  Chile  Mission  that 
year.  Due  notice  had  not  been  given  by  the  parties  who 
left  the  school,  so  that  no  one  to  continue  the  work  had 
been  secured  from  the  States,  and  no  one  was  available 
from  the  other  schools.  It  seemed  that  the  Concepcion 
College  for  girls  would  have  to  be  definitely  closed.  To 
leave  all  the  southern  half  of  Chile  with  its  large  popula- 
tion with  no  evangelical  school  for  girls  was  something 
that  ought  not  to  be  done. 

As  he  could  secure  no  other,  the  superintendent 
strongly  urged  the  Rev.  G.  F.  Arms  to  take  charge  of  the 
school.  To  save  the  situation  he  did  so.  He  placed  as 
preceptress  Miss  Mary  Stout,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the 
primary  department  in  the  boys'  school  at  Concepcion. 
He  secured  as  assistants  three  teachers  who  had  been  edu- 
cated in  our  mission  schools,  two  of  whom  had  a  little 
experience  as  teachers.  A  request  for  reenforcements 
was  sent  to  the  committee  in  New  York.  They  secured 
and  sent  out  Miss  Marian  A.  Milks.  She  had  recently 
graduated  with  high  honors  from  the  New  York  City 
Normal  College,  and  had  been  offered  a  position  as 
teacher  in  that  city  with  a  big  salary.  Instead  she  lis- 
tened to  the  call  frbm  Christ,  and  went  out  to  teach  in  a 
self-support  mission  school  for  $250  a  year  and  board, 
and  even  the  $250  was  not  ^guaranteed,  the  payment  de- 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          131 

pending  on  whether  the  school  was  able  to  earn  the  money 
with  which  to  pay  it,  the  system  being  to  pay  all  accounts 
of  the  schools  which  were  essential  to  the  maintenance  of 
the  school  before  paying  the  missionary  teachers. 

Miss  Milks  proved  a  great  acquisition.  She  knew  how 
to  teach,  and  she  had  a  remarkable  gift  for  discipline 
which  enabled  her  to  keep  perfect  order  and  at  the  same 
time  win  the  love  of  all  her  pupils.  Coupled  with  this 
she  had  a  depth  and  fervor  in  her  spiritual  life  and  a 
power  in  prayer  which  made  her  pupils  conscious  of 
what  salvation  and  a  spiritual  life  are  as  no  mere  words 
used  in  teaching  the  gospel  could  possibly  have  done. 
Her  splendid  personality  in  the  school  was  better  than 
advertising  in  securing  pupils  for  the  following  year. 
Miss  Stout  heartily  cooperated  with  Mr.  Arms  in  the 
management,  and  at  the  end  of  the  year,  after  paying  all 
accounts  for  the  running  expenses,  a  balance  of  $1,000 
was  on  hand,  which  was  used  in  improving  the  equip- 
ment of  the  school. 

During  the  four  years  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arms  had 
been  in  charge  of  Colegio  Americano  that  school  had  an 
ever-increasing  prosperity ;  and  now  that  Concepcion  Col- 
lege had  done  so  well  during  the  first  year  it  was  under 
his  management,  the  complete  confidence  of  the  directors 
of  the  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society  in  New  York 
was  won.  A  grant  of  $20,000,  largely  the  gift  of  An- 
derson Fowler,  was  made  for  the  purpose  of  provid- 
ing a  suitable  building  for  the  Concepcion  College.  About 
that  time  a  property  was  offered  in  Caupolican  Street, 
one  of  the  best  locations  in  the  city.  Superintendent 
LaFetra  was  notified.  He  approved,  and  the  purchase 
was  made. 

At  the  beginning  of  January,  1893,  tne  work  of  remod- 
eling and  enlarging  was  begun  with  great  vigor,  Mr. 


132   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

LaFetra  coming  from  Santiago  to  aid  in  the  plans  and 
in  starting  the  work. 

By  the  tenth  of  March  the  school  was  opened  in  the 
new  building,  a  part  only  of  the  rooms  being  then  ready 
for  occupancy.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Campbell  had  already 
arrived.  After  consultation  with  all  the  parties  inter- 
ested, Mr.  LaFetra  appointed  the  Campbells  in  charge 
of  Colegio  Americano,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arms  in 
charge  of  Concepcion  College.  This  arrangement  was 
very  satisfactory.  Mrs.  Arms  was  exceptionally  qualified 
for  the  management  of  a  girls'  school,  and,  being  free 
from  the  direction  of  the  boys'  school,  Mr.  Arms  would 
have  much  more  freedom  for  the  evangelistic  work.  He 
had  the  English  church  work,  and  he  had  already  begun 
some  work  among  the  Chileans,  which  work  was  begun 
in  earnest  by  the  appointment  of  Juan  Canut  de  Bon 
to  Concepcion. 

Directly  after  the  arrival  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Campbell 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arms  removed  from  Colegio  Americano 
to  Concepcion  College,  and  for  twenty-three  years  this 
remained  their  home. 

Miss  Alice  H.  Fisher  arrived  with  the  Campbells  and 
was  appointed  to  Concepcion  College.  She  was  a  trained 
normal  teacher  and  also  a  trained  art  teacher.  She  had 
a  remarkable  versatility,  being  able  to  teach  well  almost 
any  class  from  the  kindergarten  to  the  most  advanced 
grades.  She  was  a  great  worker.  The  art  department 
then  was  small,  and  occupied  less  than  half  her  time,  but 
for  the  rest  of  the  time  she  was  ready  to  aid  in  any  depart- 
ment where  her  services  were  most  needed.  Nor  did  she 
confine  her  labors  to  the  school  work,  but  was  ready  to 
aid  in  Sunday  school  work  and  took  a  lively  interest  in 
everything  pertaining  to  the  work  of  the  Mission. 

During  the  next  vacation   a   second   story  was  built 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          133 

over  the  rest  of  the  building,  thus  increasing  the  dormi- 
tories. The  following  year  some  further  additions  were 
made.  A  few  years  later  a  building  was  erected  for  the 
kindergarten  and  the  art  school.  This  was  done  out  of 
the  surplus  earnings  of  the  school. 

In  April,  1894,  Mrs.  Arms  had  to  be  taken  to  the  hos- 
pital at  Valparaiso  for  an  operation.  A  later  operation 
required  the  best  medical  skill  in  the  United  States,  mak- 
ing a  trip  to  New  York  necessary.  After  eight  months 
she  was  able  to  return  to  Chile  and  take  up  her  work. 
And  she  is  still  working  after  twenty-five  years. 

During  their  absence  from  Concepcion  the  school  went 
on  well  under  the  joint  direction  of  Miss  Marian  Milks 
and  Miss  Alice  Fisher. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arms  remained  in  charge  of  Concepcion 
College  till  April,  1903,  when  he  went  home  with  his 
family  by  the  Bishop's  order  on  account  of  impaired 
health.  It  was  twelve  years  since  the  school  had  been 
placed  under  his  care,  years  of  uninterrupted  prosperity. 
All  the  running  expenses,  including  the  salaries  of  the 
missionary  teachers,  were  paid  out  of  the  earnings  of  the 
school,  more  than  $10,000  also  had  been  put  into  school 
furnishings  and  the  enlargement  of  the  school  property, 
and  in  addition  about  $10,000  had  been  paid  in  the  sup- 
port of  pastors  engaged  in  evangelistic  work  among  the 
Chileans.  During  those  years  large  and  successful  depart- 
ments of  music  and  art  had  been  developed. 

Concepcion  College  had  come  to  take  a  worthy  place 
at  the  side  of  Santiago  College  as  a  great  school  for 
girls.  This  success  was  due  chiefly  to  Mrs.  Arms  and 
the  most  excellent  teachers  who  cooperated  with  her. 
Mr.  Arms  had  little  to  do  with  the  school  except  the 
general  business  management.  His  time  was  chiefly 
given  to  the  evangelistic  work. 


134   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

On  the  departure  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arms  the  Rev.  Adel- 
bert  S.  Watson  was  appointed  principal  and  Miss  Jean- 
nette  Carpenter  preceptress.  They  were  excellent  per- 
sons and  well  qualified  for  the  positions.  The  school 
went  on  well,  but  there  was  no  increase  in  the  school 
property,  or  any  change  in  particular  during  their  admin- 
istration, which  was  for  a  year  and  a  half.  An  event  of 
importance  for  Concepcion  College  was  the  arrival  in 
1896  of  Miss  Dorothy  M.  Richard  and  Miss  Adda  G. 
Burch.  Miss  Burch  had  had  several  years  of  experience 
as  a  teacher.  She  gave  thirteen  years  of  faithful  service. 
Miss  Richard  came  directly  from  Mount  Holyoke.  She 
was  small  of  stature  and  unassuming  in  manners,  but 
possessed  of  an  intellect  of  first  order,  and  her  whole 
being  was  most  completely  devoted  to  Christ  and  his 
service.  By  her  kind  attentions  in  cases  of  sickness  among 
the  poor,  her  willingness  to  be  of  service  to  everyone  at 
all  times,  her  wisdom  in  counsel,  and  her  Christlike  love, 
she  won  the  hearts  of  all.  It  was  delightful  to  see  how 
the  Chileans  loved  her.  By  general  consent  she  was  an 
ideal  missionary.  She  was  ever  faithful  in  fulfilling  all 
her  duties  in  the  school,  and  in  addition  the  extra  work 
she  did  in  her  ministering  service  was  incredibly  large. 
Other  teachers  were  faithful  and  rendered  valuable  serv- 
ices, among  them  Miss  Winnifred  Woods,  who  had 
charge  of  the  Art  Department  for  five  years  during  the 
absence  of  Miss  Fisher,  who  went  to  Quito,  Ecuador, 
having  been  invited  by  that  government  to  establish  a 
Normal  Teachers'  Training  School  at  Quito.  Miss  Woods 
was  a  good  art  teacher,  and  a  person  who  had  a  splendid 
religious  influence  among  the  pupils. 

During  the  first  years  the  girls  were  very  guarded 
against  any  religious  teaching.  Mrs.  Arms  was  ever 
trying  to  bring  to  their  knowledge  the  blessed  truths  of 


K 

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MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         135 

the  gospel.  By  the  aid  of  her  associate  teachers  the 
confidence  of  the  girls  was  won.  As  they  came  to  know 
the  Bible  and  the  Christian  life  as  they  saw  it  in  their 
teachers  many  of  them  came  to  the  conviction  that  the 
Protestant  religion  was  the  religion  of  the  Bible,  the  true 
religion.  In  the  morning  all  the  pupils  were  assembled 
for  singing,  Bible  reading,  and  prayer.  In  the  evening 
the  teachers  and  boarding  pupils  gathered  for  a  service 
in  which  there  were  singing  and  responsive  Bible  reading 
and  prayer,  all  taking  part.  On  Wednesday  evenings 
services  were  held,  the  pupils  being  divided  into  two 
sections  according  to  their  ages.  On  Sunday  morning 
all  were  gathered  in  a  Sunday  school.  At  the  end  of  each 
three  months  examinations  were  passed  which  were 
reported  to  the  parents  together  with  the  examinations 
in  other  studies. 

Many  of  the  girls  delighted  in  going  to  the  services 
at  the  church,  and  also  the  servants,  of  whom  there  were 
eleven.  Most  of  them  had  been  converted,  and  daily 
prayers  were  held  with  them.  Thus  the  religious  life  of 
the  school  came  to  be  very  pronounced.  In  this  and  in 
all  the  work  of  the  school  Mrs.  Arms  was  the  leader  and 
the  inspiration.  The  girls  loved  her  and  were  glad  to  do 
what  she  asked.  They  counted  her  as  their  mother  and 
their  queen.  It  was  the  same  with  her  teachers.  Years 
after  one  of  them  wrote,  "I  love  you  as  no  one  else  on 
earth."  The  servants  acted  as  if  it  were  a  pleasure  to 
serve  her.  Bishop  Warren,  after  his  visit,  called  the 
school  "the  happy  household."  In  contrast  with  the  pre- 
vious years,  when  the  average  term  of  service  hardly 
reached  two  years,  now  the  teachers  did  not  care  to  leave 
their  work,  but  gave  many  years  of  service.  All  her  teach- 
ers testify  to  the  extraordinary  executive  ability  of  Mrs. 
Arms,  and  that  she  was  an  indefatigable  worker.  When 


136   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

she  was  leaving  for  the  States,  her  health  broken,  the 
Rev.  J.  H.  McLean,  the  author  of  The  Living  Christ 
for  Latin  America,  wrote  to  Mr.  Arms :  "I  do  not  know 
what  your  plans  for  the  future  may  be,  but  I  share  with 
Mrs.  McLean  the  ardent  wish  and  fervent  prayer  that 
you  may  be  permitted  to  serve  the  Lord's  cause  in  Chile 
as  effectively  as  you  have  in  the  past.  I  shall  ever  re- 
serve the  privilege  of  considering  Mrs.  Arms  as  the 
bean  ideal  of  the  educational  missionary." 

The  school  life  of  Concepcion  College  has  been  given 
somewhat  more  fully,  because  the  writer  knew  it  better, 
but  it  represents  more  or  less  the  life  in  the  other  schools. 
Miss  Lottie  Vimont  as  kindergarten  teacher  and  Mrs. 
E.  E.  Wilson  as  music  teacher  did  excellent  work  and 
had  a  splendid  Christian  influence  during  the  few  years 
of  service  given. 

RULES  FOR  THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  SCHOOLS 

About  a  year  and  a  half  after  the  first  missionaries 
arrived  a  conference  was  called.  The  few  missionaries 
who  were  able  to  attend  attempted  to  formulate  certain 
rules  or  principles  for  the  government  of  the  schools,  and 
these  were  submitted  to  the  missionaries  not  in  attend- 
ance. Theoretically,  the  missionaries  were  under  the 
direction  of  William  Taylor.  Practically,  the  work  at 
each  station  was  under  the  persons  in  charge  there,  and 
each  station  was  responsible  for  its  own  support.  But 
the  work  in  the  several  stations  was  organized  on  the 
same  general  plan.  The  stations,  however,  were  so  far 
apart  and  the  missionaries  changed  so  frequently  during 
the  first  ten  years,  that  any  connected,  continuous  plan 
of  action  was  impossible  except  in  so  far  as  the  superin- 
tendent, I.  H.  LaFetra,  was  able  to  effect  one. 

During  the  ten  years  other  conferences  were  held,  but 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          137 

their  efforts  toward  securing  a  better  organization  of  the 
work  were  largely  frustrated  by  the  frequent  changes 
in  the  missionary  teachers. 

In  1890  a  Conference  of  great  importance  was  held. 
The  attendance  was  very  large  as  compared  with  other 
Conferences.  The  work  of  the  mission  was  better  organ- 
ized and  evangelistic  work  in  Spanish  was  begun  under 
the  direction  of  the  Conference.  I.  H.  LaFetra,  the 
superintendent,  presided,  and  G.  F.  Arms  was  elected 
secretary.  The  following  missionaries  were  present: 

From  Santiago :  The  Rev.  I.  H.  LaFetra  and  Mrs. 
Adelaide  LaFetra,  T.  W.  LaFetra,  Isabel  MacDermot, 
Lillian  Mathewson,  Frances  Bray,  Rosina  Kinsman, 
Ecedora  Pierson. 

From  Concepcion:  The  Rev.  and  Mrs.  G.  F.  Arms, 
Miss  Emma  Bard,  Mary  Stout. 

From  Iquique:  The  Rev.  J.  P.  Gilliland. 

From  Coquimbo:  The  Rev.  R.  D.  Powell,  Mrs.  Re- 
becca Compton. 

Committees  were  appointed  as  follows :  Program,  Sun- 
day Schools,  Tract  Publication  and  Distribution,  Schools, 
Salaries,  Statistics,  Native  Work,  Advisory  Committee 
on  Appointments,  and  Relation  of  Missionaries  on  the 
West  Coast  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

The  Conference  passed  the  following: 

That  the  director  of  a  school,  together  with  the  superintendent 
of  the  mission,  shall  have  at  their  disposal  for  the  use  of  the 
school  or  the  mission  in  general  whatever  surplus  remains  after 
the  current  expenses  of  the  year  have  been  paid. 

That  each  missionary  teacher  receive  an  increase  in  salary  of 
25  pesos  a  year  for  four  years;  thus  the  fifth  year  and  thereafter 
the  salary  will  be  100  pesos  more  than  the  first  year. 

With  a  few  exceptions  the  salaries  were  fixed  at  500 
pesos  (about  $250  United  States  money)  for  a  teacher 


138   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

and  800  pesos  for  a  director — that  is,  if  the  school  earned 
money  enough  to  pay  that  sum. 

That  the  Committee  in  New  York  be  requested  to  pay  at  the 
earliest  possible  moment  all  the  indebtedness  upon  our  school 
properties,  and  that  they  authorize  us  to  expend  the  equivalent 
of  a  fair  rental  value  of  the  school  property  in  the  support  of 
the  evangelistic  work  among  the  natives.  Further,  that  the 
Committee  be  requested  to  provide  other  school  buildings  and 
chapels  as  they  are  needed  in  the  development  of  the  work. 

That  we  strongly  urge  all  the  members  of  our  Conference  at 
the  various  stations  to  engage  in  Sunday  school  work,  as  one 
of  the  most  effective  instrumentalities  for  promoting  the  chief 
object  of  our  mission  among  this  people,  namely,  the  direct  incul- 
cation of  the  saving  truths  of  the  gospel  and  the  conversion  to 
Christ  of  the  children  and  youth  whom  God  commits  to  our  care. 

The  Conference  also  adopted  the  following,  which  was 
recommended  by  the  Committee  on  Native  Work : 

That  pastors  be  appointed  to  evangelistic  work  in  Spanish  in 
Coquimbo  and  Iquique. 

That  the  estimated  value  of  rent  for  the  Iquique  school  prop- 
erty, and  any  surplus  which  may  accrue  in  that  school,  be  devoted 
to  the  Spanish  work  at  that  place. 

That  $1,200  be  given  by  Santiago  College  to  aid  in  the  Span- 
ish work  at  Coquimbo. 

That  subscriptions  be  secured  from  the  members  of  the  mis- 
sion, and  also  that  collections  be  taken  in  all  our  English  churches 
to  aid  in  the  Spanish  work.  And  that  measures  be  taken  to 
secure  weekly  subscriptions  from  the  members  of  our  Spanish- 
speaking  congregations. 

The  Committee  on  Literature  and  Tracts  recom- 
mended : 

That  the  Executive  Committee  in  New  York  be  requested  to 
provide  a  printing  outfit  at  the  earliest  possible  date. 

That  an  agent  be  appointed  to  publish  a  periodical  and  also 
tracts  in  Spanish. 

That  funds  to  cover  the  expenses  of  these  publications  be 
provided  by  Santiago  College. 

That  all  the  missionaries  engage  personally  in  tract  distribution. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          139 

The  following  strong  action  was  taken  in  regard  to 
temperance : 

That  fermented  wine  in  no  case  be  used  at  communion. 

That  no  wine  be  allowed  at  our  tables  or  in  the  schools  except 
when  administered  as  a  medicine  in  accordance  with  a  physi- 
cian's orders. 

That  the  teachers  do  their  utmost  to  instill  correct  temperance 
principles  and  that  all  distribute  temperance  literature. 

The  relation  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  the  missionaries  and  members  won  for 
Christ  in  Chile  was  considered.  The  following  was 
adopted : 

That  measures  be  taken  to  bring  all  the  pastors  and  churches 
in  our  work  on  this  coast  into  relation  with  some  one  of  the 
eastern  Conferences  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States ;  that  the  pastors  of  the  churches  be  requested  to 
secure  the  vote  of  the  Quarterly  Conferences  asking  admission 
to  the  home  Conference,  and  that  such  action  be  placed  at  once 
in  the  hands  of  the  superintendent,  to  be  forwarded  to  the  Con- 
ference chosen. 

Appointments. — The  Rev.  J.  P.  Gilliland,  to  Spanish  work, 
Iquique.  The  Rev.  Juan  B.  Canut  de  Bon,  to  Spanish  work 
at  Coquimbo. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  work  in  Spanish  under  reg- 
ular Conference  direction. 

The  appointments  of  the  teachers  remained  as  the 
previous  year,  except  that  Mrs.  Compton  was  transferred 
from  the  Coquimbo  school  to  Santiago  College,  and  Miss 
Pierson  from  Santiago  to  Concepcion. 

Other  appointments  to  churches  were  as  follows :  The 
Rev.  G.  F.  Arms,  Concepcion  (English)  ;  The  Rev.  R.  D. 
Powell,  Coquimbo  (English)  ;  The  Rev.  James  Benge, 
Iquique  (English)  ;  editor  of  Spanish  literature,  T.  Wol- 
cott  LaFetra,  Santiago. 


140   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 


CHAPTER  VIII 
EVANGELISTIC   WORK   IN    SPANISH 

FIRST  BEGINNINGS 

THE  honor  of  starting  the  first  regular  Spanish  preach- 
ing services  in  Chile  belongs  to  the  American  and  Foreign 
Christian  Union  (formerly  the  Foreign  Evangelical  So- 
ciety). For  nearly  thirty  years  aid  had  been  extended 
by  this  society  to  preachers  laboring  among  the  English 
and  American  residents  and  seamen.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Gil- 
bert, chaplain  at  Santiago,  in  connection  with  his  English 
work,  taught  for  some  years  a  Bible  class  composed  of 
Chileans,  and  in  1866  he  began  regular  preaching  in  the 
Spanish  language. 

Two  years  later  work  was  begun  at  Valparaiso  by  the 
Rev.  A.  M.  Merwin,  and  at  Talca  by  the  Rev.  S.  Sayre, 
two  American  missionaries  who  had  been  studying  with 
Mr.  Gilbert  at  Santiago,  and  in  1870  at  Copiapo  by  the 
Rev.  S.  J.  Christen.  In  1873  tne  work  passed  under  the 
care  of  the  American  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions,  and  has  been  supported  by  that  Board  ever 
since.  Later,  work  was  begun  at  San  Felipe,  and  Copiapo 
was  abandoned. 

When  the  Rev.  William  Taylor  arrived  on  the  coast 
the  following  missionaries  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
were  in  the  field:  The  Rev.  A.  M.  Merwin  and  wife,  Val- 
paraiso ;  the  Rev.  S.  J.  Christen  and  wife,  Santiago ;  the 
Rev.  S.  W.  Curtis  and  wife,  Talca;  and  the  Rev.  Robert 
MacLcan  and  wife,  San  Felipe.  At  only  one  of  these 
places — Valparaiso — did  Mr.  Taylor  try  to  start  work, 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         141 

and  that  was  among  seamen,  for  whom  nothing  was  be- 
ing done.  It  was  not  his  purpose  to  interfere  with  work 
already  begun,  but,  rather,  to  try  to  reach  those  who  were 
wholly  neglected. 

METHODIST  MISSION 

In  March,  1879,  six  months  after  the  Rev.  Lucius  C. 
Smith  reached  Copiapo,  he  began  preaching  in  Spanish, 
and  continued  to  hold  services  regularly  until  the  begin- 
ning of  1883,  when  he  was  transferred  to  the  English 
church  work  at  Santiago.  The  pastor  who  followed  at 
Copiapo  could  not  use  the  Spanish,  but  services  were 
conducted  by  some  of  the  brethren  of  the  congregation 
until  that  work  was  given  up  in  1888.  At  Santiago  Mr. 
Smith  began  Spanish  services  in  a  room  which  he  rented 
for  the  purpose,  but  after  a  few  meetings  a  mob,  incited 
by  the  priests  and  encouraged  by  the  police,  broke  up  the 
services  and  burned  the  seats,  Bibles,  and  hymn  books  in 
the  public  street  in  a  central  part  of  the  city.  Mr.  Smith 
narrowly  escaped  with  his  life.  He  afterward  held  serv- 
ices in  another  part  of  the  city,  but  without  permanent 
results.  As  no  provision  could  then  be  made  for  support- 
ing Mr.  Smith  in  Spanish  work,  in  which  he  was  most 
interested,  he  requested  Bishop  Harris,  who  had  visited 
the  work  the  previous  year,  to  transfer  him  to  Mexico. 
This  was  done  at  the  beginning  of  1884,  and  the  Union 
Church  of  which  he  was  pastor  passed  into  the  hands  of 
the  American  Presbyterian  Church. 

Nothing  further  was  attempted  in  Spanish  until  1888. 
In  that  year  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Gillilancl,  who  had  been  relieved 
of  the  English  preaching  at  Iquique  by  the  arrival  of  the 
Rev.  James  Benge,  began  preaching  in  Spanish  at  that 
place,  in  addition  to  his  school  work.  In  1890,  during 
Mr.  Gilliland's  visit  to  the  United  States,  George  D.  Cole- 


142    HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

man,  a  local  preacher,  and  others  continued  the  work. 
Later  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  Dr.  W.  C.  Hoover,  who, 
with  the  aid  of  Alonzo  Walters,  an  exhorter,  and  occa- 
sional aid  from  Mr.  Gilliland,  who  had  been  appointed 
presiding  elder,  continued  to  carry  it  forward,  and  at  the 
close  of  1893  he  gave  up  all  school  work  to  devote  his 
entire  time  to  the  Spanish  pastorate. 

Also  in  1888,  Richard  John,  a  local  preacher  of  the 
Coquimbo  English  church,  with  the  aid  of  other  friends, 
began  Spanish  services  in  that  port  and  at  Serena,  the 
capital  of  the  province.  The  work  continued  under  the 
care  of  Mr.  John  and  the  Rev.  Harry  Compton  until 
1890,  when  Dr.  Juan  Canut  de  Bon  was  appointed  pastor. 
Dr.  Canut  continued  laboring  until  1892,  when  Mr.  Gilli- 
land became  pastor  at  Serena,  and  Dr.  Canut  labored  at 
Coquimbo  and  neighboring  towns,  spending  four  months 
at  Huasco  and  Vallenar.  The  Rev.  Harry  Compton  be- 
came pastor  in  1892  and  continued  until  the  end  of  1893. 

Much  opposition  was  created  by  the  fanatical  Roman 
Church  during  the  first  months  of  Dr.  Canut's  pas- 
torate, and  occasional  disturbances  occurred  during 
the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Compton.  The  daily  paper  of 
Serena,  El  Coquimbo,  in  its  issue  of  April  29,  1890,  said, 
editorially :  "On  last  Friday  night  the  disturbances  [of 
the  Protestant  service]  took  alarming  proportions,  un- 
worthy of  a  respectable  people,  and  disgraceful  to  our 
city.  After  the  services,  Dr.  Canut,  accompanied  by  his 
wife  and  little  daughter  of  tender  years,  started  quietly 
to  return  to  their  own  home,  situated  a  few  squares  dis- 
tant. As  they  crossed  the  open  square,  a  mob  of  not 
less  than  a  hundred  people  assaulted  him,  crying  out  in 
the  most  indecent  words  and  grossest  insults  and  throw- 
ing stones  which  endangered  the  life  of  his  wife  and  child. 
Dr.  Canut  was  under  the  necessity  of  taking  refuge  in 


143 

the  house  of  a  friend  who  lives  in  that  place,  in  order  to 
escape  the  fury  of  the  mob.  But  the  popular  tumult 
increased  like  a  boisterous  wave,  and  the  cries  of  'Death,' 
together  with  the  grossest  insults  still  greeted  the  ears 
of  the  Evangelical  pastor.  He  then  decided  to  face  the 
mob,  and  went  again  into  the  street  to  prevent  trouble 
to  the  owner  of  the  house.  The  police  then  came  to  his 
assistance  and  escorted  him  home,  but  not  without  show- 
ers of  stones  falling  on  them." 

It  was  while  in  Serena  that  Mr.  Gilliland  lost  his  wife, 
who  had  been  through  thirteen  years  a  devoted  and  faith- 
ful laborer  of  the  mission. 

In  1890  the  Rev.  Alberto  J.  Vidaurre,  a  native  Chilean 
of  excellent  family  and  fine  education,  who  had  been  con- 
verted while  studying  his  Bible,  without  conversation 
with  any  missionary,  and  who  had  labored  for  a  time  in 
the  work  of  the  Presbyterian  Mission,  applied  for  admis- 
sion to  our  work.  He  organized  work  at  Valparaiso  and 
continued  there  until  1892.  The  revolution  dispersed  his 
congregation  for  a  time,  and  as  support  was  difficult  to 
obtain  for  our  Spanish  work,  he  was  transferred  to  the 
mission  in  the  Argentine  Republic.  The  work  at  Val- 
paraiso was  given  up,  but  several  of  the  members  re- 
mained faithful  to  Methodism. 

In  1891  Karl  Beutelspacher  went  to  Antofagasta.  He 
had  been  a  German  sailor,  converted  in  a  mission  in 
the  city  of  Washington.  Not  long  after  this  he  secured 
sufficient  money  from  persons  interested  and  took  steer- 
age passage  for  Chile.  After  working  a  few  months  in 
Iquique  he  moved  to  Antofagasta,  where  he  supported 
himself  laboring  in  the  railroad  shops.  At  the  same  time 
he  held  services  in  English,  and  did  all  he  could  to  give 
the  word  of  life  to  all  whom  he  was  able  to  reach.  The 
following  year  he  left  the  shop  and  gave  his  whole  time 


144    HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

as  preacher  and  colporteur.  He  commenced  preaching  in 
Spanish  also,  and  after  a  few  months  he  devoted  himself 
wholly  to  work  in  that  language,  in  which  his  labors  were 
richly  blessed. 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  SPANISH  WORK — 1893  TO   1903 

As  shown  by  the  previous  pages,  at  the  end  of  1893 
evangelistic  work  in  Spanish  had  been  started  in  Iquique, 
Antofagasta,  Coquimbo,  Serena,  and  Concepcion. 

Under  the  labors  of  the  Rev.  J.  P.  Gilliland  the  Span- 
ish church  work  at  Iquique  had  secured  a  good  start. 
Through  failure  of  health  he  returned  to  the  States 
before  the  end  of  1893,  and  the  Rev.  W.  C.  Hoover  took 
charge  of  the  work,  which  went  on  with  even  greater 
success.  It  extended  to  the  Pampas,  the  region  of  the 
nitrate  of  soda  mining  industry.  Huara  was  the  center 
of  that  work.  Over  one  hundred  members  and  proba- 
tioners were  won  and  over  4,000  pesos  were  collected 
among  themselves  to  build  a  church.  This  was  the  first 
church  for  work  in  the  Spanish  language  built  in  Chile 
by  gifts  wholly  from  the  people.  Dr.  Hoover  became 
sick  in  October  of  that  year  and  had  to  go  to  the  States. 
The  new  church  enterprise  had  to  be  postponed.  The 
work  was  supplied  by  local  preachers  till  February  of 
1895,  when  the  Rev.  A.  J.  Vidaurre,  transferred  from 
Argentine,  was  placed  in  charge.  He  was  one  of  the 
very  few  Chileans  converted  from  the  upper  classes,  and 
a  gifted  speaker.  He  had  been  disinherited  by  his 
mother  and  suffered  other  persecutions.  The  church  in 
Iquique  and  the  work  in  the  nitrate  districts  being  so  suc- 
cessful among  a  people  receiving  a  much  better  wage 
than  in  other  parts  of  Chile,  gave  promise  of  being 
able  to  support  itself.  Before  the  end  of  the  year 
Vidaurre  had  got  the  church  people  well  up  to  the  idea 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          145 

of  an  independent  church,  making  themselves  free  from 
the  ecclesiastical  dominance  of  foreigners.  He  left  the 
Methodists,  formed  an  independent  church,  and  took 
nearly  all  the  members  with  him.  Dr.  Hoover  returned 
to  Chile  in  September.  After  two  months  of  labor  he 
was  able  to  organize  anew  with  twenty-eight  full  mem- 
bers and  seven  probationers.  Senor  Vidaurre  secured 
from  the  municipality  the  office  of  inspector  of  theaters, 
to  help  out  his  income.  But  in  a  few  years  his  church 
had  gone  to  nothing.  He  left  for  other  parts  to  get  his 
living  as  he  could.  Our  Methodist  work  under  Dr. 
Hoover  grew  in  the  city.  The  old  tent  in  which  the  con- 
gregation had  worshiped  for  several  years  was  becoming 
unserviceable.  Brother  Hoover  entered  again  into  the 
work  of  raising  funds  for  a  new  church.  The  775  pesos 
he  secured  in  1894  had  been  on  interest.  A  friend  had 
given  2,000  pesos.  A  lot  centrally  located  was  pur- 
chased for  the  $2,000.  Bishop  McCabe  gave  $1,000  and 
the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  $500.  Two  thousand 
pesos  more  were  secured  locally,  and  a  fine-appearing 
church  accommodating  about  500  was  dedicated  by 
Bishop  McCabe  on  February  2,  1902.  At  the  dedication 
900  pesos  were  raised  to  complete  the  payments  on  the 
church  and  400  more  were  secured  in  the  evening  serv- 
ice for  a  new  organ.  The  possession  of  a  permanent, 
convenient,  and  respectable-looking  church  edifice  for 
our  native  congregation  was  a  great  step  in  advance.  The 
next  two  years  the  membership  increased  from  54  mem- 
bers and  52  probationers  to  130  members  and  in  pro- 
bationers. Arica  and  Tacna  church  reported  33  mem- 
bers and  39  probationers.  The  English  church  at  Iqui- 
que,  59  members  and  5  probationers.  Brother  Benge, 
who  did  such  good  work  for  several  years,  went  home 
sick  in  1896,  and  not  long  after  passed  to  the  better  land. 


146   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

The  Rev.  George  E.  Allen  came  out  in  1897  and  was 
pastor  of  the  English  church  till  1904. 

TACNA  AND  ARICA 

A  new  work  was  opened  in  Tacna  and  Arica  under 
Brothers  Irigoyen  and  Mariano  de  la  Cruz,  Peruvians, 
over  which  Dr.  Hoover  had  supervision.  The  majority 
in  the  province  are  Peruvians.  The  work  there  has  met 
with  but  moderate  success. 

In  1901  a  trust  was  formed  to  avoid  competition  in  the 
price  of  nitrate,  and  the  working  of  some  of  the  deposits 
was  closed.  The  government,  wishing  to  provide  for  the 
people  thrown  out  of  employment,  and  at  the  same  time 
to  colonize  lands  near  Punta  Arenas  ("Sandy  Point"), 
Straits  of  Magellan,  53°  south  latitude,  gave  free  trans- 
portation and  practically  free  lots  of  lands  to  colonists. 
The  number  transported  from  Iquique  included  several 
members  of  the  Iquique  church.  Some  members  from 
the  Valparaiso  church  went  also.  Among  this  number 
was  Tiburcio  Rojas,  a  blacksmith  of  very  limited  educa- 
tion, but  with  a  very  blessed  experience  of  salvation. 
He  gathered  the  Methodists  into  a  class  of  fifteen.  Then 
he  began  to  sell  Bibles  and  visit  the  people.  Brother 
Hoover  aided  him  by  a  very  frequent  correspondence. 
The  sale  of  Bibles  brought  in  very  little  income,  but  his 
two  sons  gladly  supported  the  family  by  their  work. 
His  faithfulness,  zeal,  and  spirituality  won  the  people. 
Sickness  came  and  he  passed  to  his  rest  on  September 
12,  1903.  Pastor  Hoover  visited  Punto  Arenas  and  held 
meetings  for  three  weeks.  At  the  end  of  that  year  fifty- 
three  members  and  seventy-two  probationers  were  re- 
ported. That  a  common  laborer  was  able  to  build  up 
such  a  work  is  one  of  the  best  promises  that  South 
America  will  be .  evangelized. 


a 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          147 

The  work  at  Antofagasta  founded  by  Karl  Beutel- 
spacher  in  1891  continued  under  his  direction  till  1896. 
The  power  of  God  in  his  own  heart  made  him  an  efficient 
worker.  He  built  up  a  church  of  vigorous  Christians, 
ready  to  give  for  the  support  of  the  church  and  ready 
to  work  for  its  extension. 

Several  of  the  converts  entered  the  ministry,  two  be- 
coming members  of  Conference.  Another  one  removed 
to  town  where  the  Presbyterians  only  had  work.  Find- 
ing him  so  efficient  and  so  spiritual,  he  was  appointed  a 
pastor,  and  for  twenty  years  has  been  an  honor  to  the 
Christian  ministry  in  that  sister  denomination.  Two  or 
three  others  as  exhorters  and  local  preachers  have  con- 
tinued to  render  good  service.  No  other  church  except 
the  one  at  Concepcion  has  given  so  many  men  to  the 
ministry.  Men  going  out  from  the  Antofagasta  church 
up  the  railroad  to  Bolivia  gathered  groups  of  hearers 
along  the  line  to  Oruro.  They  worked  by  day  on  the 
railroad  or  in  the  mines  and  by  night  and  on  Sundays 
they  preached  the  gospel.  It  was  said  of  the  Antofagasta 
members  that  they  all  appeared  to  be  preachers  and 
raised  up  congregations  wherever  they  went.  Juan  Ruz 
in  Calama  and  Lamothe  and  Alcota  in  Cebollar  gathered 
good  congregations  and  labored  successfully  under  the 
direction  of  the  pastor  at  Antofagasta.  The  same  can 
be  said  of  Brother  Barbosa  in  Uyuni,  Bolivia,  and  of 
Reyes  and  Petit  in  Oruro,  Bolivia,  where  a  Methodist 
Sunday  school  was  established.  Another  brother,  Ar- 
turo  Mendoza,  went  to  Vallenar.  Soon  after  arriving 
he  began  to  hold  services  and  visited  also  Freirina  and 
Huasco,  towns  in  the  same  valley. 

Indalecio  Romero  was  pastor  of  the  Antofagasta 
church  during  1896  and  1897.  Beutelspacher  again  for 
the  years  1898-1900,  W.  F.  Albright  for  1901-1902,  and 


148   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

Roberto  Olave  for  1903.  Thus  out  of  the  thirteen  years 
from  the  founding  of  the  church  other  good  men  labored 
five,  but  the  character  which  Brother  Beutelspacher  gave 
to  the  church  was  largely  retained. 

Though  Richard  John  held  services  in  Spanish  in 
Coquimbo,  beginning  in  1888,  and  though  others  also 
held  services  with  some  regularity,  Dr.  Canut  being  sta- 
tioned there  in  1892,  yet  there  is  no  report  in  the  minutes 
of  a  church  being  organized,  nor  is  there  any  account  of 
the  membership  up  to  1898  as  a  Spanish-speaking  church. 
In  1897  the  most  of  the  English  congregation  withdrew 
to  form  the  Anglican  Church,  and  from  that  date  nearly 
all  services  were  held  in  Spanish.  In  1894  the  Rev. 
P.  B.  Cuppett  was  pastor  at  Coquimbo.  His  work  was 
in  English  only.  Whatever  work  was  done  in  Spanish 
was  by  Brother  Albright,  the  pastor  at  Serena,  and  local 
preachers  at  Coquimbo,  Brothers  John  and  Samson.  In 
1897,  however,  a  church  was  organized  with  Chilean 
members,  and  some  of  the  English-speaking  members 
who  were  willing  to  join  with  them,  of  which  Brother 
Williams  remained  pastor  until  1900,  Brother  F.  Har- 
rington 1901,  I.  Romero  1902,  and  H.  B.  Shinn  1903.  At 
the  end  of  that  year  thirty-eight  members  and  forty-seven 
probationers  were  reported.  During  these  years  occa- 
sional visits  were  made  to  the  mining  town  Panuncillo, 
to  Tongoi,  and  other  towns  in  the  province. 

At  Serena  the  work  had  to  face  a  bitter  persecution, 
perhaps  the  most  bitter  received  in  any  town.  There  are 
more  churches  to  the  population  and  more  nuns  and 
frailes  than  in  any  other  city  in  Chile.  Led  on  by  the 
priests,  the  persecution  became  so  violent  during  the 
pastorate  of  Dr.  Canut  that  lives  were  in  danger.  Besides 
boycotting  was  resorted  to,  attempting  thus  to  deprive 
all  who  attended  our  services  from  securing  work,  and 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          149 

to  stop  the  merchants  from  dealing  with  our  people.  But 
our  people  were  steadfast.  By  nature  the  Chilean  is  a 
lover  of  liberty,  independent  in  character,  and  energetic 
to  resist  ill  treatment.  Given  this  character,  together 
with  the  joy  of  a  blessed  experience  of  sins  forgiven, 
firmness  in  the  Christian  life  is  the  result.  Against  all 
opposition  the  work  in  Serena  stood  firm  and  prospered. 
On  the  removal  of  Dr.  Canut  to  Concepcion  Brother  Gilli- 
land  was  appointed  and  labored  a  year.  It  was  a  sad, 
sad  year  for  him  and  the  children.  Stricken  with  small- 
pox, Mrs.  Gilliland  was  taken  from  them,  after  a  few 
days  of  sickness.  She  was  a  good  and  capable  woman,  a 
splendid  missionary.  Brother  Compton  and  Mrs.  Comp- 
ton,  always  most  efficient  helpers,  were  in  charge  the 
following  two  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  forty-two 
members  were  reported  and  sixty-two  probationers. 
Brother  Albright  was  in  charge  from  1894  to  1900,  ex- 
cepting the  year  1897,  when  Brother  E.  E.  Wilson  served 
in  that  capacity.  F.  Harrington  was  in  charge  in  1901, 
Brother  Wenceslao  Peralta  in  1902,  Indalecio  Romero 
in  1903,  and,  aided  by  P.  F.  Marti,  the  last  named  had 
charge  of  both  Coquimbo  and  Serena.  At  the  end  of 
1903  Serena  reported  thirty-five  members  and  forty-eight 
probationers.  In  August  or  September  of  1892  Dr. 
Canut,  accompanied  by  a  Chilean  helper,  visited  the  towns 
of  Huasco,  Freirina,  and  Vallenar,  in  the  Huasco  Valley. 
The  priests  started  a  tremendous  persecution  against 
them,  but  the  civil  authorities  protected  them.  They 
spent  nearly  four  months  in  the  valley.  During  that 
time  he  preached  several  times  and  held  private  con- 
ferences with  persons  who  came  to  him;  they  visited 
from  house  to  house;  sold  one  thousand  one  hundred  and 
fifty-five  books,  mostly  Bibles,  and  distributed  seventeen 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy-nine  tracts.  Their 


150 

work  prepared  the  way  for  starting  a  permanent  evan- 
gelical work,  but  it  was  necessary  to  send  Dr.  Canut  to 
Concepcion,  and  there  was  neither  the  money  nor  the 
man  to  establish  the  permanent  work  till  some  years 
later. 

During  the  first  years  of  the  work  in  Concepcion  nearly 
all  of  the  missionaries  left  the  field  after  a  stay  of  from 
one  to  three  years.  The  acquirement  of  the  Spanish  lan- 
guage by  them  had  been  so  limited  that  practically  the 
only  religious  work  they  had  done  was  in  English,  even 
the  Sunday  school  work.  Not  long  after  the  arrival  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arms  in  1888  Sunday  school  work  was 
begun  in  Spanish.  In  1891  Sefior  Pedro  Yanez,  who  had 
been  connected  with  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Val- 
paraiso, came  to  Concepcion,  and  was  engaged  as  a  teacher 
of  Spanish  in  Colegio  Americano.  Through  his  aid  serv- 
ices were  held  in  Spanish,  attended  chiefly  by  the  board- 
ing pupils  of  the  school.  Sefior  Yafiez  mixed  up  in  pol- 
itics, however,  and  became  so  unworthy  in  conduct  that 
he  was  dismissed.  Mr.  Arms  continued  the  services.  In 
1893  Dr.  Canut  was  appointed  to  Concepcion.  Services 
were  begun  in  the  English  chapel,  a  room  joined  to  the 
schoolroom,  having  dormitories  above. 

It  did  not  serve  well  for  Spanish  work.  Owners  of 
properties  continually  refused  to  rent  for  the  holding  of 
Protestant  services.  After  three  months  of  diligent 
searching  a  house  on  which  a  mortgage  was  about  to  be 
foreclosed  was  secured  by  paying  an  exorbitant  price 
and  advancing  the  rent  ten  months  to  prevent  the  fore- 
closure. Dr.  Canut  was  very  energetic.  He  distributed 
many  tracts.  He  invited  many  persons.  He  filled  the 
windows  with  attractive  advertisements.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Arms  and  some  of  the  teachers  of  the  schools  did  what 
they  could  to  aid.  With  it  all  only  a  small  attendance 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          151 

could  be  secured — so  very  different  from  Serena,  where 
he  had  been  persecuted,  but  where  he  could  get  a  crowd 
and  win  converts.  But  during  the  year  he  made  visits  to 
Angol,  Los  Angeles,  Traiguen,  Victoria,  and  Temuco. 
Among  the  few  won  at  Concepcion  was  a  Spanish  mer- 
chant who  had  a  drygoods  store  patronized  by  the 
wealthy.  Dr.  Canut,  a  Spaniard,  got  hold  of  this  Span- 
iard. After  a  tremendous  struggle  lasting  for  days  he 
surrendered  to  Christ.  It  was  a  glorious  conversion.  A 
few  months  after  he  passed  his  business  into  the  hands 
of  others,  and  offered  himself  at  his  own  charge  for  the 
work  of  the  gospel.  After  six  months  of  study  he  passed 
an  exceptionally  fine  examination,  was  received  on  trial 
February,  1894,  and  was  appointed  pastor  to  open  a  new 
work  at  Temuco,  one  of  the  new  frontier  towns,  in  a  fine 
section  of  country  which  not  many  years  before  had  been 
wrested  from  the  Indians.  He  married  Miss  Emma 
Bard,  a  missionary  teacher  who  had  given  seven  years 
of  successful  work  and  was  well  fitted  to  be  his  helper. 
He  labored  for  two  years  in  Temuco  and  organized  a 
church  with  thirty-nine  probationers  and  thirteen 
members. 

The  same  year  that  I.  Romero  was  appointed  to 
Temuco,  Dr.  Canut  was  sent  to  Angol.  From  that  center 
he  made  several  visits  to  Los  Angeles,  Mulchen,  Trai- 
guen, and  other  towns.  The  Rev.  Harry  Compton  was 
appointed  to  take  up  the  work  Dr.  Canut  had  started  in 
Concepcion.  He  and  Mrs.  Compton  gave  a  part  of  their 
time  to  Concepcion  College. 

During  the  year  the  Methodists  and  Presbyterians 
united  in  holding  services,  the  pastors  alternating.  In 
December,  1894,  the  Presbyterians  separated  to  occupy 
the  new  church  edifice  they  had  constructed.  Some  of 
the  people  gathered  by  Dr.  Canut  had  moved  away,  some 


152    HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

had  fallen  back ;  Brother  Compton  went  to  Argentine  and 
not  more  than  seven  or  eight  were  to  be  found  when 
the  Rev.  G.  F.  Arms  was  appointed  to  take  charge. 

He  remained  president  of  Concepcion  College  and  had 
also  the  general  oversight  of  the  new  work  started  to  the 
south  in  the  region  called  "La  Frontera."  C.  Venegas, 
a  local  preacher  and  Sunday  school  superintendent  of  the 
Serena  church,  was  sent  to  aid  Mr.  Arms.  He  was  a 
shoemaker  by  trade  and  given  to  drink  when  the  gospel 
reached  him.  With  difficulty  could  he  read ;  a  man  of  no 
extraordinary  ability,  but  thoroughly  saved,  he  devel- 
oped wonderfully  and  became  a  very  successful  minis- 
ter and  district  superintendent.  The  consecrated,  con- 
scientious uprightness  and  devoted  service  of  this  man 
saved  by  grace  is  big  with  promise  for  the  redemption 
of  Chile. 

The  services  in  Concepcion  were  held  on  Maipo  Street, 
where  there  was  much  traffic.  Many  would  pause  at  the 
door,  see  the  little  group,  and  pass  on.  The  group  was  so 
small  that  they  thought  it  to  be  a  private  gathering,  or  it 
did  not  attract  them.  To  help  out,  Mrs  Arms  and  several 
of  the  teachers  from  Concepcion  would  go,  and  with  them 
a  group  of  girls,  Protestants  and  others  from  liberal  fam- 
ilies who  were  not  afraid.  That  helped  to  make  a  con- 
gregation at  church  and  Sunday  school.  Little  by  little 
the  attendance  increased.  Among  those  who  came  was 
J.  Samuel  Valenzuela,  who  a  few  years  before  was  a 
pupil  of  Mr.  Arms  in  Colcgio  Americano  and  was  much 
attached  to  him.  For  five  years  he  had  been  employed  in 
a  wholesale  house  and  in  a  bank.  He  entered  into  a  clear 
experience  of  salvation.  He  soon  became  a  very  active 
propagandist,  though  he  suffered  a  severe  though  refined 
persecution  from  his  family,  his  companions  in  com- 
merce, and  in  social  circles.  Of  the  converts  won  very 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          153 

few  indeed  have  been  from  the  educated  upper  classes, 
and  the  persecution  which  they  have  to  face  is  usually 
vastly  worse  than  that  of  the  poor  people.  But  Valen- 
zuela  showed  tremendous  firmness.  He  succeeded  in 
bringing  several  of  his  acquaintances  to  the  services,  some 
of  whom  were  converted.  At  the  end  of  the  first  year 
Cecilio  Venegas  was  appointed  pastor  of  the  church  at 
Temuco.  The  second  year  began  with  a  larger  attend- 
ance. A  nephew  of  Mr.  Arms,  Edwin  Parker  Currier, 
had  come  out  to  teach  in  Colegio  Americano.  He  learned 
the  Spanish  with  great  ease.  He  started  a  class  of  boys 
in  the  Spanish  Sunday  school.  He  got  to  attend  his 
class  two  bright  little  Italian  boys.  Not  long  after  the 
father,  Cayetano  Signorelli,  a  tailor,  began  to  attend 
also.  He  became  an  interested  listener  and  Bible  stu- 
dent. His  brother  was  a  priest  in  Italy,  his  mother  a 
devoted  Catholic,  and  evidently  a  good  woman.  Senor 
Signorelli  was  converted,  and  in  a  short  time  his  wife 
also.  Signorelli  and  Valenzuela  became  exhorters,  then 
local  preachers,  passing  the  regular  course  of  study. 
After  about  two  years  Valenzuela,  by  recommendation  of 
the  Mission  Conference,  was  sent  to  our  Methodist  The- 
ological School  at  Mercedes,  Argentina,  where  he  re- 
mained for  a  year  and  a  half.  Signorelli  continued  work- 
ing at  his  trade,  giving  such  aid  as  he  could.  He  served 
as  Sunday  school  superintendent  and  occasionally 
preached.  On  the  return  of  Valenzuela  from  Argentina 
he  was  appointed  assistant  pastor  at  Concepcion.  Mr. 
Arms  had  begun  services  in  Talcahuano,  the  seaport, 
about  nine  miles  away.  These  services  fell  largely  to 
the  care  of  Senor  Valenzuela;  besides  he  aided  in  the 
services  at  Concepcion.  Mr.  Arms  was  often  absent  on 
the  district.  Senor  Signorelli  was  appointed  the  pastor 
at  Xueva  Imperial. 


154   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

From  the  time  that  Mr.  Arms  took  charge  of  the  little 
group  of  seven  or  eight  who  formed  the  congregation 
at  Concepcion  in  January,  1895,  the  growth  of  that 
church  was  slow  but  constant.  The  converts  were  true 
and  faithful,  and  the  attendance  at  that  church  and  Sunday 
school  had  come  to  be  very  good.  One  of  the  converts 
of  those  days  was  a  young  man,  Jose  M.  Diaz.  He  had 
a  fair  education  but  was  entirely  ruined  by  drink.  A 
member  who  had  known  him  in  another  city  met  him 
one  day  and  invited  him  to  accompany  him  to  church. 
He  did.  He  received  Jesus  Christ  and  was  transformed. 
The  power  of  sin  over  him  was  broken  and  he  never  drank 
again.  He  needed  work,  and  began  learning  the  shoe- 
makers' trade  of  the  man  who  invited  him  to  church. 
He  became  a  respected  citizen.  By  the  end  of  two 
years  he  had  a  shop  of  his  own  and  two  men  in  his  em- 
ploy. He  began  to  show  gifts  and  graces.  The  mission 
station  of  Los  Angeles,  sixty  miles  distant,  was  without 
a  pastor  because  of  sickness.  He  was  asked  to  supply 
the  place,  which  he  willingly  did  without  a  salary,  sup- 
porting himself  by  his  trade  as  shoemaker.  The  follow- 
ing year  he  was  appointed  to  Ercilla,  and  still  supported 
himself  and  family.  Soon  he  opened  services  in  the  near- 
by larger  town  of  Collipulli.  His  work  was  crowned 
with  unexpected  success.  That  he  might  attend  the  two 
places  he  was  given  a  small  salary.  At  the  following 
Conference  he  was  admitted  on  probation,  and  has  since 
been  filling  important  appointments. 

We  will  return  to  Concepcion.  Senor  Valenzuela, 
with  the  aid  of  some  of  the  teachers  of  Concepcion  Col- 
lege, organized  a  flourishing  chapter  of  the  Epworth 
League,  the  first  on  the  west  coast  of  South  America. 
Under  its  auspices  services  were  held  in  a  section  of 
Concepcion  called  Bio-bio,  and  also  in  other  places.  The 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          155 

Concepcion  church  had  continued  to  grow  till  its  Sunday 
school  was  the  largest  and  the  church  attendance  was 
one  of  the  best  in  the  Conference.  Mrs.  Arms's  class 
in  the  Sunday  school  enrolled  eighty  women,  and  as 
many  as  sixty-five  were  present  at  a  time.  Though  heav- 
ily laden  with  duties  in  the  school,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arms 
gave  themselves  unsparingly  to  the  work  of  the  church. 
The  missionary  teachers  gave  their  hearty  cooperation, 
especially  Misses  Milks,  Richard,  and  Fisher.  The 
teachers  gave  freely  also  to  the  financial  support  of  the 
work.  The  missionaries  connected  with  Colegio  Amer- 
icano generally  attended  the  English-speaking  Method- 
ist church,  and  to  them  fell  largely  the  burden  of  main- 
taining those  services.  Due  in  a  large  measure  without 
doubt  to  the  cooperation  of  the  teachers  and  the  attend- 
ance of  pupils  from  the  mission  schools,  there  were  gath- 
ered into  the  Concepcion  Spanish  church  persons  of 
higher  culture  and  better  financial  standing,  including 
persons  in  commerce  and  one  of  the  best  architects  and 
builders  in  the  city.  Concepcion  College  was  able  to  pay 
all  of  its  running  expenses  and  improve  its  property  out 
of  its  current  income,  and,  in  addition,  to  provide  a  large 
part  of  the  money  required  to  support  the  Spanish  church 
work  in  the  Concepcion  Circuit,  the  rest  being  paid  by 
the  congregation.  It  did  more — it  aided  in  supporting 
the  evangelistic  work  in  the  frontier.  Bishop  Vincent  vis- 
ited Chile  in  1897.  Writing  of  the  work  he  said:  "And 
one  evening  in  Concepcion  with  our  Spanish-speaking 
congregation,  with  its  songs  and  reverent  attention,  and 
holy  'Amens'  and  radiant  faces  of  old  and  young,  would 
have  dispelled  all  doubt  about  the  work  in  Chile." 

The  Bishop  had  some  reason  to  be  enthusiastic  over 
the  Concepcion  church  because  of  what  he  saw  and  in 
that  it  had  given  to  the  Conference  I.  Romero,  J.  S. 


156   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

Valenzuela,  C.  Signorelli,  J.  M.  Diaz,  and  had  had  much 
to  do  in  the  training  of  Roberto  Olave,  a  convert  of 
Romero's,  and  the  first  native  preacher  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  South  America  to  become  a  district 
superintendent. 

ANGOL  CIRCUIT 

Dr.  Juan  Canut  de  Bon  was  appointed  to  Angol  in  1894. 
He  regularly  visited  Los  Angeles  and  Mulchen,  where 
he  was  able  also  to  organize  churches.  He  visited  also 
Traiguen  and  Victoria,  and  occasionally  some  of  the 
smaller  towns.  In  Traiguen  a  good  congregation  was 
gathered,  the  people  paying  the  rent  of  the  room  used 
as  a  chapel  and  the  traveling  expenses  for  his  visits. 
He  had  many  converts,  some  of  them  people  of  position. 
One  of  them  a  little  later  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city 
of  Angol,  and  he  served  for  several  years  as  secretary 
of  the  Quarterly  Conference.  Federico  Schick  of  Los 
Angeles  was  another  man  of  much  influence.  Dr.  Canut 
drafted  in  several  of  his  converts  to  aid  him  in  his  large 
circuit.  One  of  them,  Justo  del  C.  Saldana,  served  as 
pastor  at  Nueva  Imperial  and  Los  Angeles.  Failure  of 
health  obliged  Dr.  Canut  to  remove  to  Santiago  for  a 
milder  climate  and  better  medical  treatment.  The  Rev. 
Carlos  Beutelspacher  was  transferred  from  Antofagasta 
to  take  charge  of  the  Angol  circuit.  There  had  appeared 
a  regular  plague  of  Seventh-Day  Adventists,  selling  books 
and  making  a  house-to-house  proselyting  propaganda 
among  our  converts  in  this  circuit.  They  succeeded  in 
taking  from  us  the  local  preacher,  Escobar,  who  was  sup- 
plying at  Mulchen,  and  several  of  the  members.  These 
so  talked  against  us  that  people  who  were  becoming  inter- 
ested turned  away.  They  would  not  become  Sabbatists, 
and  the  whole  work  there  soon  went  to  nothing.  The 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          157 

Sabbatists  gave  no  money  to  support  a  pastor  among 
the  members  whom  they  had  secured.  They  took  away 
shortly  after  the  local  preacher  as  a  book-seller  and  prop- 
agandist. They  sent  him  even  to  Bolivia.  A  few  years 
later  he  returned  to  Chile,  but  had  become  a  complete 
atheist.  Other  parts  of  the  Angol  Circuit  suffered  from 
the  pernicious  effects  of  the  narrow  and  deluded  Sab- 
batist,  in  spite  of  the  vigorous  efforts  of  Brother  Beutel- 
spacher.  At  the  end  of  the  year  he  made  a  visit  to  his 
parents  in  Germany,  and  the  Rev.  E.  E.  Wilson,  a  mis- 
sionary, who  had  given  himself  with  vigor  to  learn  the 
Spanish,  was  appointed  to  the  circuit.  After  one  year 
he  was  transferred  to  Valparaiso,  and  Indalecio  Romero 
became  pastor.  Unfortunately,  he  also  remained  but  a 
year,  when  he  went  to  start  a  new  work  at  San  Fernando, 
undertaking  to  support  himself  by  keeping  a  shoe  store. 
Roberto  Olave,  who  had  been  assisting  Romero  for  some 
months,  became  his  successor.  He  married  Miss  Kate 
Russell,  a  missionary  teacher  at  Concepcion.  He  re- 
mained for  three  years.  At  the  end  of  the  first  year  his 
helper,  J.  Saldana,  was  appointed  pastor  at  Nueva  Impe- 
rial, and  C.  Signorelli  was  stationed  at  Los  Angeles, 
which  then  became  a  separate  charge.  Olave  occasion- 
ally made  visits  to  Santa  Barbara,  a  town  some  leagues 
from  Mulchen  toward  the  Andes  Mountains.  The  jour- 
neys were  made  on  horseback.  On  one  of  them  he  fell 
in  with  a  traveler,  Senor  Maurera,  going  the  same  way. 
He  improved  the  opportunity  to  tell  of  salvation  through 
Christ.  On  the  following  trip  he  met  the  same  man, 
who  turned  about  and  went  back  for  miles  that  he  might 
learn  more  about  this  salvation.  He  was  converted,  and 
his  wife  also.  As  often  as  possible  they  would  come 
twenty-four  miles  to  attend  a  service  at  Mulchen.  Later 
they  held  services  in  their  own  house  in  the  distant  vil- 


158 

lage  where  they  lived.  In  the  year  1903  the  pastor  and 
district  superintendent  visited  there  and  received  twenty- 
three  probationers. 

TEMUCO 

In  1894  I.  Romero  was  appointed  to  Temuco.  Only 
eight  months  had  passed  since  his  conversion.  He  had 
passed  a  remarkable  examination  before  the  Mission 
Conference,  and  in  full  confidence  he  was  placed  in 
charge  of  this  new  appointment.  Temuco  was  a  new 
town  on  the  banks  of  the  Cautin  River.  Just  to  the  south 
is  a  large  Araucanian  Indian  population.  Dr.  Canut  and 
Romero  had  twice  visited  Temuco,  traveling  on  a  con- 
struction train,  the  railroad  being  unfinished.  The  larg- 
est hotel  cleared  its  dining  room  that  services  might  be 
held  in  it.  The  place  was  crowded,  many  prominent  men 
being  interested  to  hear  what  the  ex-Jesuit  priest  had 
to  say. 

When  Romero  arrived  he  rented  a  house  which  had  a 
very  large  room  formerly  used  as  a  store.  It  served  well 
for  a  chapel.  His  meetings  were  well  attended.  Perse- 
cution arose.  The  priest  organized  a  "Circulo  Catolico," 
which  raised  a  mob  and  attacked  the  chapel  one  night 
while  a  service  was  being  held.  Stones  were  thrown  and 
the  windows  were  smashed.  Some  were  injured,  among 
them  a  bright  young  man,  Luis  Vasquez,  who  was  struck 
on  the  head  and  was  carried  unconscious  to  the  doctor's. 
Eighteen  years  after  he  told  the  writer  that  never  for  a 
day  had  he  failed  to  pray  for  the  church  where  he  found 
Christ.  For  many  years  he  has  been  a  very  valuable 
laborer  in  the  Araucanian  Indian  Mission. 

The  priest  in  this  instance  made  a  big  mistake.  The 
noise  of  the  attack  drew  a  crowd.  The  principal  men 
of  the  city,  liberals,  soon  had  twenty  of  the  attackers 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         159 

arrested.  The  whole  thing  turned  on  the  part  of  the 
public  against  the  priest  and  in  favor  of  the  "evangeli- 
cals." At  the  end  of  two  years  Romero  had  sixteen  mem- 
bers and  twenty-eight  probationers.  Two  of  his  con- 
verts, R.  Olave  and  Romulo  Reyes,  entered  the  ministry 
later  and  became  prominent  members  of  Conference. 
Mrs.  Emma  Bard  Romero  did  much  to  aid  in  the  church 
services,  in  Sunday  school,  and  also  by  having  a  day 
school.  She  was  a  superior  teacher. 

In  1896  Romero  was  transferred  to  Antofagasta  and 
Cecilio  Venegas  was  appointed  to  Temuco,  where  he 
remained  five  years.  They  were  years  of  fine  progress. 
During  this  second  year  the  large  building  which  we  had 
used  as  chapel  and  parsonage  was  sold.  The  best  place 
that  could  be  secured  was  rented,  but  was  far  too  small. 
In  a  few  months  that  was  sold  and  we  had  to  vacate. 
Then  in  the  best  house  that  could  be  secured,  the  larg- 
est room,  the  hallway,  and  the  veranda  together  gave 
room  for  only  a  part  of  the  congregation.  Bishop  War- 
ren went  to  Chile  that  year,  1898.  He  visited  the  prin- 
cipal places  in  the  Concepcion,  or  Southern  District. 
With  the  district  superintendent,  Mr.  Arms,  he  looked  at 
different  properties  offered  for  sale  in  Temuco.  They 
agreed  on  one  lot  as  far  preferable  to  any  of  the  others. 
Though  the  Bishop  gave  no  financial  aid,  he  encouraged 
Mr.  Arms  to  buy  and  build,  with  the  understanding  that 
later  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  would  reimburse 
them  for  the  amount  expended — which  was  done  after 
several  years.  A  chapel  with  a  seating  capacity  for  four 
hundred  was  built,  and  a  parsonage  of  seven  rooms.  On 
the  advice  of  the  Bishop  three  schoolrooms  and  four 
living  rooms  were  also  built.  Mr.  Arms  was  fortunate 
in  that  people  trusted  him,  and  that  at  all  times  he  was 
able  to  borrow  money  when  it  was  needed  for  mission 


160   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

properties.  The  new  town  of  Temuco  had  its  boom, 
which  was  followed  by  hard  times  when  many  properties 
went  on  the  mortgage.  Many  properties  were  for  sale, 
with  but  few  buyers.  The  prices  of  lots,  lumber,  and 
labor  were  very  low  when  Mr.  Arms  bought  and  built. 
Shortly  the  town  began  to  improve,  and  to-day  Temuco 
is  the  largest  and  finest  city  south  of  Concepcion,  and 
the  lot  is  worth  many  times  the  cost  of  the  property. 

Miss  Rosina  Kinsman  was  sent  from  Santiago  to  take 
charge  of  the  school  which  Mrs.  Romero  had  started. 
She  was  succeeding  well  when  called  by  the  government 
of  Ecuador  to  found  a  model  primary  school  in  Quito. 

In  1901  the  Rev.  R.  D.  Powell  was  pastor  in  charge, 
and  Venegas  was  appointed  to  Santiago.  Mrs.  Powell 
with  an  assistant  teacher  carried  on  the  school  Miss  Kins- 
man had  left.  Roberto  Olave  was  preacher  in  charge  in 
1902  and  1903.  Mrs.  Olave  had  charge  of  the  school. 
Temuco  continued  to  be  a  very  important  station.  From 
this  point  the  work  extended  to  the  surrounding  towns. 

Work  at  Nueva  Imperial  was  started  in  1896  by  Mr. 
Arms  and  I.  Romero.  In  1898  property  was  purchased 
and  services  extended  to  other  points.  Churches  were 
also  started  at  Lautaro,  Freire,  and  Pitrufquen. 

VICTORIA  CIRCUIT 

The  Chilean  government  brought  out  quite  a  number 
of  English  families  who  were  given  grants  of  land. 
Several  of  them  settled  near  the  railroad  station  of 
Pailahueque.  Among  them  was  William  Standen.  His 
conversion  and  his  Christian  activities  had  been  in  con- 
nection with  the  Salvation  Army.  He  was  a  sincere  and 
earnest  Christian.  His  wife  had  been  a  school-teacher. 
She  was  a  good  teacher,  an  excellent  Christian,  and  an 


active  worker.  His  neighbors,  English  colonists,  were 
far  from  any  church  and  without  church  privileges.  He 
started  a  school  and  a  Sunday  school  for  his  own  chil- 
dren and  those  of  his  neighbors.  Soon  he  began  preach- 
ing. Besides  the  English  families  some  Chileans  began 
to  attend.  On  the  cold,  wintry,  rainy  days  before  return- 
ing to  their  homes  they  were  given  bread  and  tea  around 
a  log  fire  in  the  large  room  he  had  managed  to  get  built. 
It  served  for  school  room  and  chapel.  Several  were  con- 
verted. Then  began  the  persecutions.  It  took  the  form 
of  robbing  from  him.  To  rob  from  the  heretic  who  was 
leading  Chileans  to  Christ  was  a  worthy  act  and  prof- 
itable for  the  persecutors.  His  horse  was  stolen,  his 
oxen,  his  cattle,  and  his  pigs,  leaving  nothing  on  his  land 
but  some  hens.  About  that  time,  1896,  Dr.  Thomas  B. 
Wood,  so  long  in  charge  of  the  Methodist  missionary 
work  in  Peru,  spent  some  months  in  Chile  under  orders 
of  the  Board.  Accompanied  by  Superintendent  Arms  he 
visited  the  chief  stations  in  the  Southern  District.  In 
consultation  with  him  it  was  arranged  to  have  Mr. 
Standen  go  to  Victoria,  a  town  of  some  six  thousand  in- 
habitants, the  chief  city  in  that  region.  Some  of  the  mis- 
sionary teachers  generously  aided  Mr.  Arms  in  securing 
the  funds  to  make  it  possible.  Mr.  Standen  was  so  spirit- 
ual, so  filled  with  zeal  in  seeking  souls,  so  brotherly,  so 
self-sacrificing,  and  with  all  possessed  of  a  good  humor, 
that  he  captured  the  Chileans.  His  wife  in  all  his  sacri- 
fices and  labors  was  his  most  worthy  colaborer.  In  a  few 
years  he  had  a  church  in  Victoria  with  a  good  number  of 
members.  He  called  some  of  his  converts  to  his  aid,  and 
they  held  services  in  Pailahueque,  Perquenco,  Pua,  Er- 
cilla,  and  Cura  Cautin.  In  the  first  two  and  last  named 
places  churches  were  organized.  Two  of  the  converts 
became  regular  pastors,  four  others  became  •  exhorters. 


162    HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

All  the  towns  named  but  one  were  along  the  railroad. 
Often  several  members  of  the  Victoria  church  would 
accompany  the  pastor  in  his  visits. 

The  wife  of  John  Flood,  a  colonist  at  Pailahueque, 
was  brought  to  the  hospital  at  Concepcion,  where  she 
passed  away.  Mr.  Arms  had  been  able  to  render  some 
service,  and  in  gratitude  Mr.  Flood  gave  a  lot  25  x  25 
meters  in  Pailahueque  for  a  chapel  and  parsonage.  Pas- 
tor Standen  raised  a  good  part  of  the  money  needed  to 
build  the  parsonage.  A  Chilean  woman,  a  widow  who 
was  converted,  gave  a  lot  for  a  chapel  in  Perquenco, 
and  part  of  the  cost  of  the  chapel  was  met  by  the 
people.  A  lot  was  purchased  and  a  chapel  built  in  Cura 
Cautin,  the  people  out  of  their  poverty  giving  substantial 
aid.  Mr.  Standen  did  much  in  helping  to  secure  these 
properties. 

Apart  from  the  services  held  for  some  months  in 
Colegio  Americano  by  the  Rev.  G.  F.  Arms,  aided  by 
Pedro  Yanez,  the  Methodists  had  held  no  services  in 
Spanish  in  southern  Chile  till  Dr.  Canut  began  in  Con- 
cepcion in  June,  1893.  1°  ten  years  from  that  time 
every  city  from  Concepcion  south  for  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  miles  had  services,  and  many  of  the  villages 
also. 

Sefior  A.  Irrazzibal,  a  member  of  Congress  and  editor 
of  a  prominent  Santiago  daily,  made  a  trip  through  the 
south  on  a  political  campaign.  It  was  in  the  section 
called  the  "frontera."  In  one  of  the  articles  published 
in  his  daily  he  spoke  of  the  remarkable  growth  of  the 
Protestant  movement  and  said,  "It  looks  as  if  the  whole 
frontera  will  be  Protestant  in  ten  years." 

The  leading  clerical  daily,  organ  of  the  archbishop, 
published  an  article  of  some  length  in  which  the  success 
of  the  Methodist  work  is  acknowledged.  And  yet  that 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         163 

work  so  highly  successful  was  done  almost  entirely  by 
men  converted  and  trained  on  the  district.  Perhaps  the 
work  of  the  Methodist  itinerant  in  the  new  West  beyond 
the  Ohio  has  seldom  in  these  later  years  been  so  exem- 
plified in  a  mission  field  as  on  the  Chilean  frontier  where 
class-leaders,  exhorters,  local  preachers,  and  Sunday 
school  workers  were  drafted  into  the  work.  Few  of  these 
volunteer  workers  proved  unfaithful.  Several  of  them 
entered  the  itinerant  ministry,  and  for  years  have  been 
among  the  leaders  in  the  Conference.  Two  became  dis- 
trict superintendents.  One  was  the  founder  and  three 
have  served  as  editors  of  our  church  periodical;  two 
have  served  as  Conference  Secretary. 

In  reporting  his  district  as  published  in  the  Confer- 
ence Minutes  of  1896  Mr.  Arms  says:  "With  profound 
gratitude  to  Almighty  God  I  rejoice  in  being  able  to  say 
that  our  work  in  Spanish  in  the  south  of  Chile  has  been 
in  a  state  of  revival  almost  continuously  and  the  con- 
gregations have  more  than  doubled  during  the  year." 
The  "frontera"  then  was  new.  Many  of  the  houses  were 
shacks.  The  people  were  poor.  As  president  of  our 
Methodist  school  at  Concepcion  Mr.  Arms  came  into 
friendly  relations  with  many  persons  in  the  district.  As 
he  traveled  about  he  was  kindly  received  by  these  people 
of  wealth  and  often  entertained  in  their  homes.  In  five 
different  towns  he  was  entertained  at  the  home  of  the 
mayor.  Still  our  evangelistic  work  was  largely  among 
the  poor.  To  win  them  he  became  a  brother  to  them. 
He  ate  in  their  homes ;  he  sometimes  slept  on  benches, 
the  floor,  or  in  lack  of  that,  on  the  ground.  His  health 
was  becoming  seriously  impaired,  and  in  1903  the  Bishop 
arranged  for  a  leave  of  absence.  Excellent  treatment  in 
a  sanatorium  and  a  successful  operation  enabled  Mr. 
Arms  to  return  to  his  work  in  fifteen  months. 


164   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

THE  Two  GREAT  CENTERS — SANTIAGO  AND  VALPARAISO 

How  Lucius  Smith  tried  to  begin  evangelistic  work  in 
Santiago  in  the  year  1883,  and  how  a  desperate  mob  put 
his  life  in  danger  and  stopped  the  work,  has  been  related. 

Gustavo  Noel  Henri,  a  Frenchman,  educated  in  a  con- 
vent in  France  which  he  abandoned  with  faith  broken  on 
account  of  corrupt  practices  which  he  discovered,  was 
converted  in  our  church  at  Temuco.  He  was  then  book- 
keeper for  a  flour  mill.  He  was  thoroughly  converted 
and  became  an  active  and  very  exemplary  Christian. 
With  the  aid  of  Pastor  Romero  he  started  the  publica- 
tion of  El  Cristiano,  our  first  religious  periodical.  Dur- 
ing the  absence  on  furlough  of  Dr.  LaFetra  in  1896, 
G.  F.  Arms  being  in  charge,  Henri  was  transferred  to 
Santiago  that,  in  addition  to  his  work  as  editor,  he  might 
begin  evangelistic  services  in  Spanish  in  that  city.  He 
commenced  services,  and  in  1897  was  duly  appointed  by 
the  Bishop  as  preacher  in  charge  of  Santiago.  The  room 
in  which  the  services  were  held  was  small.  His  health 
was  not  good.  The  services  were  poorly  attended.  At 
the  Conference  held  in  February,  1898,  Dr.  LaFetra,  the 
superintendent,  reported:  "Brother  Noel  Henri  was 
appointed  preacher  in  charge  at  Santiago  and  also  editor 
of  El  Cristiano.  For  several  months  services  were  held 
and  some  fruit  gathered,  but  in  July  Mr.  Henri's  health 
became  so  bad  that  he  had  to  be  removed  to  San  Felipe." 

The  Rev.  J.  B.  Canut  de  Bon,  pastor  then  at  Angol,  was 
suffering  from  heart  disease,  and  he  removed  to  Santiago. 
It  was  hoped  that  he  might  take  up  and  push  forward  the 
work  begun  by  Brother  Henri.  But  his  health  continued 
to  fail,  and  he  was  called  to  his  reward.  He  was  a  man 
greatly  used  of  God  in  starting  the  work  in  southern 
Chile,  and  his  death  was  sadly  felt. 


REV.  JOSE  TORREGROSA 

A  pioneer  in  Chile  Methodism,  who  founded  three  Methodist 
churches.  With  him  are  his  two  sons,  who,  following  the  steps  of 
the  father,  entered  the  Chile  Annual  Conference,  bright  jewels  in 
the  ministry  and  an  honor  to  the  Church  of  Christ. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          165 

A  few  months  later  Mr:  Henri  also  passed  away. 
When  the  Conference  met,  the  Rev.  Jose  Torregrosa 
was  appointed  to  Santiago.  He  rented  a  house  in  Calle 
San  Pablo  and  labored  with  such  success  that  before  the 
end  of  the  year — in  October,  1898 — a  church  was  organ- 
ized. He  continued  laboring  successfully  for  two  years 
and  was  then  appointed  to  Serena.  Cecilio  Venegas  was 
transferred  from  Temuco  to  Santiago.  The  services 
were  changed  from  San  Pablo  to  Moneda  Street.  The 
attendance  continued  to  increase.  By  1903  the  work  had 
so  extended  that  a  local  preacher,  Victor  Pavez,  was 
taken  on  as  assistant  pastor,  and  services  were  held  in 
four  places.  The  attendance  at  the  Moneda  chapel  was 
about  three  hundred  and  at  San  Diego  Street  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty.  There  were  good  Sunday  schools  at 
each  place.  At  the  other  two  places  the  attendance  was 
much  less.  Brothers  C.  W.  Ports  and  C.  H.  Werten- 
berger,  missionaries  connected  with  our  Methodist  Pub- 
lishing House,  gave  effective  aid  in  maintaining  the  serv- 
ices at  these  four  places.  Also  T.  W.  LaFetra,  who  did 
such  good  work  for  twenty  years  as  a  teacher  at  Santi- 
ago, was  a  constant  and  very  efficient  helper  in  the  church 
work.  In  it  all  Ira  H.  LaFetra,  the  superintendent,  was 
the  guide  and  inspiration,  and  he  and  Mrs.  LaFetra  pro- 
vided by  their  labors  in  school  and  press  the  funds  to 
a  large  degree  by  which  the  evangelistic  work  was 
supported. 

VALPARAISO 

The  Rev.  Jose  Torregrosa  labored  as  a  teacher,  col- 
porteur, and  preacher  in  Spain,  where  he  was  terribly  per- 
secuted, among  the  rest  suffering  cruelly  in  jail  for 
months,  his  family  being  left  in  destitution,  because  he 
gave  to  the  people  the  word  of  God  and  told  the  story  of 


166   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

salvation.  Later  he  was  in  Argentina  for  a  few  years. 
Then  he  went  to  Chile  as  a  colporteur,  laboring  under  the 
direction  of  Superintendent  LaFetra.  He  was  earnest, 
spiritual,  and  gifted  as  a  preacher.  LaFetra  sent  him  to 
Valparaiso  to  take  up  the  work  which  Vidaurre  had 
abandoned  some  time  before.  He  had  been  licensed  as 
a  local  preacher  by  the  Methodist  church  at  La  Plata, 
Argentina.  He  secured  a  room  and  began  preaching  in 
May.  The  report  of  the  superintendent  to  the  Confer- 
ence, 1896,  says:  "God  has  greatly  blessed  the  work. 
Marvelous  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  lives  of  men 
and  women.  Twenty-five  members  have  been  received 
in  full  and  there  are  thirty  more  on  probation."  A  few 
of  the  members  had  belonged  to  Mr.  Vidaurre's  congre- 
gation. The  next  year  the  report  says:  "The  member- 
ship has  nearly  doubled.  The  room  rented  for  chapel  is 
far  too  small ;  there  is  not  even  standing  room  inside  for 
all."  The  Rev.  E.  E.  Wilson  was  appointed  to  Valparaiso 
in  January,  1898,  and  remained  there  four  years.  Mrs. 
Wilson  was  an  efficient  helper.  During  the  four  years 
the  church  continued  to  grow  in  a  notable  manner.  This 
was  due  in  no  small  measure  to  the  organizing  ability  of 
Brother  Wilson.  All  the  work  was  well  organized,  but 
the  special  feature  was  the  class  meetings.  There  were 
thirteen  or  more,  and  every  member  was  assigned  to  a 
class.  His  class  leaders  were  right  at  their  work  look- 
ing sharply  after  the  sick  and  the  absent  members.  They 
met  each  week  with  the  pastor  and  each  reported  con- 
cerning the  names  on  his  list.  His  Sunday  school  reported 
112  members  in  1900,  the  next  year  182,  the  following 
249.  Then  Brother  Wilson  was  granted  a  furlough  and 
W.  C.  Hoover  was  transferred  from  Iquique  to  take 
charge  at  Valparaiso.  He  continued  the  class-meeting 
system  as  organized.  He  entered  with  great  zeal  into 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          167 

the  evangelistic  work  and  secured  the  hearty  cooperation 
of  the  membership.  The  church  was  in  a  state  of  almost 
continual  revival.  He  had  sixteen  class  meetings  and  a 
Quarterly  Conference  of  33  members.  An  Epworth 
League  of  119  members.  One  year  he  reported  receiving 
84  in  full,  1 6  by  letter  and  173  on  probation.  On  special 
occasions  the  congregation  reached  1,000.  It  was  said 
to  be  the  largest  Spanish-speaking  congregation  in  all 
the  Spanish-American  republics. 

The  services  were  held  in  a  rented  building,  which 
was  three  times  enlarged.  A  lot  was  bought  for  30,000 
pesos,  Bishop  McCabe  contributing  6,000  pesos  toward 
the  purchase. 

QUILLOTA  AND   LlMACHE 

The  Rev.  Jose  Torregrosa  had  been  so  successful  in 
starting  work  in  new,  or  practically  new,  fields,  that  at 
the  Conference  held  at  Concepcion  in  1903  Bishop  Joyce 
appointed  him  to  Ouillota  and  Limache.  He  resided  at 
Quillota,  but  he  held  services  also  in  Limache  and  No- 
gales,  and  occasionally  visited  Llai-Llai,  San  Felipe,  and 
Los  Andes.  His  work  was  abundantly  blessed,  especially 
at  Quillota,  where  a  good  congregation  was  secured. 

At  the  end  of  the  year  there  were  thirty-three  mem- 
bers and  fifty-two  probationers. 

The  Rev.  Indalecio  Romero  was  appointed  to  San 
Fernando  in  February,  1900.  He  visited  Curico  also. 
Brother  Romero  offered  to  support  himself  by  running 
a  shoeshop  and  doing  what  he  could,  and  at  the  same 
time  preach  the  gospel.  He  was  able  to  do  quite  well  at 
San  Fernando,  where  he  lived,  but  at  Curico  little  prog- 
ress was  made.  In  1902  Brother  Romero  was  appointed 
to  Coquimbo,  and  San  Fernando  was  supplied  as  best  it 
could  be  by  one  and  another  going  there  from  Santiago. 


168   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

BOLIVIA 

The  Rev.  W.  C.  Hoover  in  his  report  as  superintendent 
of  the  Northern  District  to  the  Conference  of  1901  says: 
"The  Antofagasta  church  is  in  a  more  satisfactory  con- 
dition than  any  other  church  of  my  district.  The  Rev. 
Carlos  Beutelspacher  is  the  pastor."  Brother  Beutel- 
spacher  was  the  founder  of  the  Antofagasta  church.  Dur- 
ing the  years  that  he  was  in  charge  he  came  into  contact 
with  many  persons  from  Bolivia  and  from  along  the  rail- 
road reaching  into  Bolivia.  Some  of  his  most  active 
members  were  employed  on  that  railway.  They  had 
been  trying  to  spread  the  gospel  by  personal  testimony 
and  by  distributing  literature.  Brother  Beutelspacher 
became  desirous  to  carry  the  gospel  into  Bolivia  himself. 
He  secured  the  appointment  as  agent  of  the  American 
Bible  Society  for  Bolivia.  Bishop  McCabe  approved  of 
this  step  and  furthered  it  by  appointing  Brother  Beutel- 
spacher preacher  at  La  Paz  and  superintendent  of  the 
new  Bolivia  District,  which  he  created.  Dr.  Wood,  in 
his  report  of  1902  as  superintendent  of  the  Lima  District, 
which  includes  work  in  Ecuador,  mentions  three  things 
which  made  notable  the  work  of  Bishop  McCabe  for  the 
year,  and  says :  "Third.  His  sending  of  a  laborer  to 
Bolivia.  This  will  leave  forever  the  footprints  of  Bishop 
McCabe  on  the  high  planes  of  the  Andes." 

Some  years  previously  a  colporteur  had  entered  Bolivia 
offering  the  Bible.  This  was  reported  to  the  archbishop. 
He  replied,  "Yes,  he  has  entered,  but  he  has  not  got  out." 
And  he  did  not,  for  in  passing  from  one  town  to  another 
he  was  murdered.  But  the  world  moves  and  God's  hand 
is  moving  it.  A  liberal  president  had  been  elected,  and 
Brother  Beutelspacher  received  from  him,  signed  by  his 
own  hand,  a  permit  to  sell  the  Bible ;  and,  further,  he 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          169 

gave  orders  to  the  civil  authorities  to  give  the  colporteur 
protection  wherever  he  went. 

Carlos  Beutelspacher  was  a  good  Bible  agent,  both  as 
a  salesman  and  a  religious  propagandist.  But  in  the 
high  altitudes  of  Bolivia  among  an  ignorant  people,  few 
indeed  of  whom  could  read,  who  still  were  in  bondage 
to  their  old  pagan  beliefs  or  enslaved  to  the  Jesuits,  who 
for  generations  were  backed  by  the  civil  power,  the  work 
was  slow  and  difficult.  His  traveling  to  other  towns  had 
to  be  done  mostly  on  foot,  the  Bibles  being  transported 
on  the  back  of  a  mule.  Often  he  had  to  sleep  in  poor 
huts  or  in  the  open.  He  had  to  carry  his  food  with  him. 
Engaged  so  largely  in  Bible  work,  he  could  not  build  up 
a  church.  All  Chile  was  then  on  the  self-supporting 
plan.  All  salaries  had  to  be  won  on  the  field.  The  strug- 
gle was  so  hard  to  support  the  work  already  begun  in 
Chile  that  no  funds  could  be  spared  to  aid  Beutelspacher. 
His  resources  as  Bible  agent  were  not  sufficient.  Bishop 
McCabe  aided  him.  The  following  year  Bolivia  was  sep- 
arated from  the  Chile  Mission  and  joined  to  the  North 
Andes  Mission  Conference,  in  order  that  he  might  draw 
from  the  funds  which  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
granted  to  that  mission. 

Beutelspacher  labored  in  Bolivia  three  years,  the  last 
of  which  he  had  as  his  helper  Carlos  A.  Reyes,  a  member 
of  the  Antofagasta  church.  Much  worn  by  the  excessive 
labor  and  the  high  elevation,  it  became  necessary  for  him 
to  return  to  the  coast.  He  was  appointed  to  Tacna  and 
Arica.  From  there  he  made  two  or  three  visits  by  mule 
to  La  Paz,  and  though  much  seed  was  sown,  the  fruit 
remained  scattered.  It  was  impossible  to  gather  it  into 
an  organized  church.  What  Brothers  Barbosa,  Reyes, 
and  Petit,  of  the  Antofagasta  church,  were  able  to  do  in 
Uyuni  and  Oruro  was  reported  in  connection  with  the 


170   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

Antofagasta  church.  The  occupation  of  the  men  who 
did  the  work  took  them  elsewhere,  and  the  work  was 
suspended  till  Juan  Lewis  was  appointed  to  Uyuni  in 
1905  and  F.  M.  Harrington  to  La  Paz  in  1906. 

To-day,  when  so  many  of  the  cities  and  towns  of  Chile 
have  organized  evangelical  churches,  the  opening  of  a  new 
station  is  quite  different  from  what  it  was  in  the  begin- 
ning. It  has  seemed  desirable  to  give,  therefore,  an  account 
(somewhat  in  detail)  of  the  opening  of  some  of  the  early 
stations.  The  writer  has  given  those  with  which  he  was 
more  familiar.  Doubtless  others  as  interesting  might 
have  been  cited. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         171 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  PRINTING  PRESS 

IN  the  year  1881  Dr.  George  LaFetra,  a  brother  of 
Ira  H.  LaFetra,  and  other  friends  in  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, sent  out  to  Santiago  a  small  press  and  outfit  to 
the  value  of  $972.50.  The  press  was  set  up  in  one  of  the 
dormitories  of  the  third  floor  of  Santiago  College,  where 
it  remained  for  several  years.  With  this  circulars,  reports, 
and  other  things  for  the  schools,  and  some  tracts,  were 
printed.  Some  additions  were  made  to  the  outfit  from 
time  to  time.  In  1889  the  publication  of  tracts  was 
begun  on  a  somewhat  extensive  scale. 

The  experience  which  Mr.  LaFetra  had  acquired  in 
connection  with  editorial  work  in  Ohio  Wesleyan  and 
Boston  School  of  Theology,  as  well  as  in  his  connection 
with  daily  papers,  was  of  decided  advantage  to  him.  Miss 
Emily  Day,  one  of  the  missionaries  who  had  formerly 
been  a  typesetter,  aided  in  the  printing.  Carlos  R.  James, 
then  a  boy,  became  a  helper.  Under  LaFetra's  instruc- 
tion he  became  so  efficient  that  later  he  was  given  charge 
of  the  printing  under  the  general  direction  of  Mr. 
LaFetra.  In  1892  the  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society 
sent  out  a  larger  press  and  printing  materials  to  the  value 
of  6,121  pesos,  about  $2,500.  In  1891  and  1892  a  build- 
ing 32  x  72  feet  and  two  stories  high  was  erected  for  use 
as  a  Publishing  House  on  that  part  of  the  Santiago  prop- 
erty which  fronts  on  Moneda  Street.  In  1892  the  office 
began  doing  work  for  the  public  and  soon  became  an 
important  factor  in  our  mission.  By  the  end  of  1896 


i;2    HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

out  of  its  earnings  it  had  contributed  1,500  pesos  for  the 
support  of  the  preachers  in  the  gospel  work  and  had 
expended  in  improving  the  plant  12,119  pesos.  In  the 
year  1896  it  did  work  to  the  value  of  38,586  pesos.  Yet 
it  had  no  capital  with  which  to  work  except  what  LaFetra 
borrowed  at  a  high  rate  of  interest. 

At  the  Conference  of  1895  the  Committee  on  Publica- 
tions recommended  the  publishing  of  Sunday  school  lit- 
erature in  Spanish,  and  of  tracts  which  could  be  sent  by 
the  Chilean  mails  free  of  cost.  It  was  agreed  that  vig- 
orous use  ought  to  be  made  of  such  an  opportunity.  The 
Committee  recognized  the  urgent  need  of  religious  liter- 
ature in  book  form  for  circulation  among  the  people,  and 
they  voted  that,  if  possible,  arrangements  should  be  made 
with  other  missions  for  joint  action  in  the  publication  of 
a  series  of  books  and  of  a  hymnal  in  Spanish.  The  report 
of  Dr.  LaFetra,  the  publishing  agent  for  1894,  showed 
that  less  tracts  were  published  than  the  previous  year, 
but  that  13,000  books  and  pamphlets  were  published  with 
a  total  of  602,000  pages.  That  this  literature  which  was 
being  put  into  the  hands  of  the  people  was  doing  good 
work  is  shown  by  the  great  efforts  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church  to  counteract  it. 

The  Publishing  House,  under  the  direction  of  LaFetra 
and  James,  was  very  successful.  It  was  able  to  add  very 
much  to  its  equipment,  and  in  addition  it  passed  over  to 
the  mission  for  the  support  of  preachers  in  the  evangelis- 
tic work  10,000  pesos  a  year  for  several  years.  Then  it 
did  much  work  for  the  government.  Its  work  for  the 
mission  was  not  small.  Within  a  few  years  it  published 
twenty  thousand  hymn  books  in  Spanish,  publishing  as 
many  as  eight  thousand  in  one  year. 

Mr.  James  retired  from  the  Publishing  House  to  enter 
business  for  himself  about  the  year  1901.  Mr.  LaFetra's 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         173 

health  was  bad,  and  except  for  general  direction  the  print- 
ing establishment  was  under  the  care  of  C.  H.  Wertem- 
berger  and  C.  W.  Ports.  In  1902  they  were  named  the 
responsible  agents.  But  other  printing  establishments  in 
Santiago  had  become  very  much  better  equipped  and  com- 
petition was  strong.  The  new  men  had  little  business 
experience  and  the  publishing  house  did  not  meet  ex- 
penses those  last  years. 


174   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 


CHAPTER  X 
PROPERTIES 

IN  1883,  five  years  after  William  Taylor  made  his  first 
visit  to  the  west  coast  and  founded  the  mission,  he  visited 
the  different  stations  and  then  returned  to  Coquimbo. 
The  Rev.  J.  W.  Higgins,  who  labored  so  well  at  Co- 
quimbo, had  gone  to  his  reward;  so  had  Collier;  and 
Jeffrey  in  failing  health  had  returned  to  the  States.  Thus 
Coquimbo  was  without  a  pastor,  and  William  Taylor 
remained  there  to  supply  the  place. 

He  bought  a  lot  on  Calle  Melgerejo  68  x  168  feet,  cen- 
trally located,  on  which  he  erected  a  wooden  building  to 
accommodate  the  successful  school  which  Rachel  Hold- 
ing had  started  the  year  before.  Taylor  worked  with 
his  own  hands  on  this  building,  and  with  him  the  Rev. 
W.  T.  Robinson,  who  had  arrived  from  Brazil.  The  lot 
cost  3,000  pesos  (about  $2,200  United  States  money), 
and  the  building  $1,000  more.  There  was  a  debt  on  the 
property  of  $2,125.  That  was  the  only  property  owned 
by  the  mission  when  William  Taylor  was  elected  by  the 
General  Conference  Bishop  of  Africa.  He  never  visited 
the  mission  again.  It  was  passed  over  to  the  Transit 
and  Building  Fund  Society,  which  he  organized  in  New 
York  June  27,  1884,  to  carry  on  the  mission.  The  new 
society  undertook  to  vigorously  push  forward  the  work. 

OTHER  PROPERTIES  ACQUIRED 

The  Rev.  J.  P.  Gilliland  had  removed  from  Caldera  to 
Iquique  at  the  beginning  of  1884  and  had  started  church 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          175 

services,  Bethel  services  for  the  seamen,  and  a  school. 
On  February  4,  1885,  he  bought  a  corner  lot  37  x  126 
feet,  situated  in  the  center  of  the  city,  and  during  the 
year  he  erected  a  building  for  a  chapel  parsonage  and 
school,  at  a  cost  of  $8,000.  The  Transit  Society  paid  the 
larger  part,  the  balance  was  given  by  people  in  Iquique. 

On  February  3,  1886,  there  was  bought  at  Concepcion 
by  W.  T.  Robinson  a  corner  lot  98  x  198  feet,  situated 
one  square  from  the  railroad  station  on  the  principal  bus- 
iness street.  It  cost  10,000  pesos  (about  $5,000  United 
States  money).  A  building  for  the  school  for  boys, 
called  "Colegio  Americano,"  was  constructed  at  a  cost 
of  $8,000.  The  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society  gave 
$7,500.  A  mortgage  of  n,ooo  pesos  remained  on  the 
property. 

A  corner  property  with  a  house  (corner  of  Melgerejo 
and  Benaventa  Streets)  was  bought  at  Coquimbo  March 
18,  1886.  This  house  had  been  rented,  and  the  church 
services  had  been  held  in  it  since  the  founding  of  the 
station  in  1878.  The  building  was  remodeled  and  en- 
larged so  as  to  give  a  large  audience  room,  and  also  fur- 
nish a  classroom,  and  rooms  for  Sunday  school  and  for 
day  school  and  a  parsonage.  The  property  cost  $3,500, 
and  was  refitted  at  a  cost  of  $4,500,  about  14,000  pesos, 
of  which  5,200  were  subscribed  by  the  people.  The  pur- 
chase and  remodeling  took  place  when  Mr.  Horn  was 
pastor. 

The  school  at  Coquimbo  had  prospered.  There  was 
need  for  a  school  for  both  boys  and  girls.  At  the  cost 
of  $5,500,  in  the  year  1888,  a  large  addition  was  erected 
to  the  school  property  which  provided  for  a  separate 
school  for  girls.  The  school  was  then  under  the  direction 
of  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Harry  Compton. 

On  April  9,  1886,  the  Rev.  Ira  H.  LaFetra  purchased 


176   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

in  Santiago  a  lot  on  the  corner  of  Agustinas  and  Avenida 
Brazil.  It  was  in  a  good  residential  section.  About  one 
half  of  the  lot  extended  to  Moneda  Street.  It  cost  35,000 
pesos  ($18,000).  A  building  three  stories  high  and  two 
hundred  feet  long,  with  one  wing  two  hundred  feet  and 
another  one  hundred  and  thirty-two,  was  erected  for  the 
use  of  Santiago  College  for  girls,  at  a  cost  of  $38,000. 
It  contains  about  one  hundred  rooms  besides  a  large 
gymnasium  detached  from  the  main  building.  I  repeat 
here  what  the  Rev.  Asbury  Lowrey,  secretary  of  the  Tran- 
sit and  Building  Fund  Society,  said  in  his  report  after 
visiting  the  mission  in  1887:  "The  Rev.  I.  H.  LaFetra 
has  produced  a  monument  of  beauty  and  value  which  is 
universally  admired.  It  is  doubtful  if  we  have  anywhere 
in  the  United  States  a  school  structure  with  better  ap- 
pointments than  this  edifice  contains.  How  it  was  pos- 
sible to  produce  so  much  for  so  small  a  sum  it  will  be 
interesting  for  architects  and  capitalists  to  know." 

The  edifice  built  by  the  Rev.  W.  T.  Robinson  at  Con- 
cepcion  was  35  x  90  feet.  It  faced  the  principal  street. 
He  built  also  two  small  structures  at  the  rear  of  the 
main  building.  He  planned  to  build  another  edifice  for 
a  girls'  school  on  the  farther  end  of  the  lot  with  a  front- 
age of  seventy-five  feet  facing  the  side  street.  He  had 
laid  the  foundations  for  a  part  of  that  building  when  he 
left  for  Argentina.  To  fill  the  place  left  vacant  the  Soci- 
ety secured  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  G.  F.  Arms.  He  was 
given  charge  of  Colegio  Americano  and  also  the  general 
supervision  of  the  girls'  school.  The  Committee  directed 
him  to  construct  the  building  for  the  girls'  school  accord- 
ing to  the  plan  which  the  Committee  and  the  Rev.  Robin- 
son had  agreed  upon,  though  all  the  other  missionaries 
at  that  station  were  opposed  to  having  the  girls'  school 
on  the  same  lot  with  that  of  the  boys.  The  Committee 


- 


TWO  METHODISTS  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS 
They  were  faithful  amid   very  severe  persecutions. 

ARAUCANIAN  INDIAN  WOMEN  SPINNING  AND  WEAVING 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          177 

furnished  $7,500  for  the  new  building.  In  January,  1889, 
Mr.  Arms  began  work  on  a  building  of  two  stories  de- 
signed for  schoolrooms  and  dormitories.  He  did  nothing 
toward  constructing  the  buildings  at  the  rear  which, 
according  to  the  plan,  were  to  serve  for  dining  room, 
kitchen,  servants'  rooms,  etc.  The  Committee  desired  a 
chapel  to  be  constructed  with  this  building  designed  for 
the  girls'  school.  After  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Arms  services 
in  English  were  held  in  a  rented  room.  In  the  new  build- 
ing a  room  25  x  43  feet  on  the  first  floor  was  set  apart 
for  a  chapel.  Bishop  Walden  says  in  his  report:  "In  the 
new  building  is  a  neat  and  commodious  chapel  for  the 
purposes  of  the  school,  and  also  for  a  small  English  con- 
gregation, which  is  served  by  the  Rev.  G.  F.  Arms,  pres- 
ident of  the  boys'  school." 

The  dormitories  in  the  second  story  were  not  finished 
till  March,  1890,  which  was  eighteen  months  after  the 
arrival  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arms.  During  that  time  the 
number  of  pupils  in  attendance  had  doubled,  with  the 
prospect  of  a  still  larger  increase  (which  expectation  was 
realized).  The  new  building  was  needed  to  accommo- 
date the  increased  attendance  of  the  boys.  There  was  no 
room  for  girls.  The  situation  was  reported  to  the  Tran- 
sit and  Building  Fund  Society.  The  Committee  replied: 
"You  have  won  out  against  our  plan  of  placing  the  school 
for  girls  on  the  same  lot  as  that  of  the  boys.  As  the  new 
building  is  needed  also  for  the  boys,  we  agree  that  it  be 
so  used." 

On  January  14,  1892,  that  part  of  the  Iquique  prop- 
erty which  was  used  for  school  purposes,  valued  at  $4,000 
United  States  money,  was  exchanged  for  a  lot  of  6,300 
meters  facing  on  three  streets.  The  new  lot  cost  in  addi- 
tion $1,500.  It  was  situated  in  a  new  section  opened  by 
the  city,  but  was  of  easy  access  for  the  pupils  from 


178   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

almost  the  whole  city.  It  cost  only  $1.80  a  meter  but 
soon  was  worth  four  times  that  amount.  On  the  lot  a 
commodious  building  was  erected  for  the  use  of  the 
Iquique  school  at  a  cost  of  $24,000  United  States  money. 

On  July  4,  1892,  a  valuable  property  situated  in  one  of 
the  choicest  locations  was  purchased  for  35,000  pesos 
(about  $13,200  United  States  money).  It  had  on  it  a 
well-constructed  one-story  dwelling  house.  This  house 
was  remodeled  by  Mr.  Arms,  a  second  story  was  built 
and  a  large  extension  added  to  make  it  suitable  for  our 
girls'  school,  Concepcion  College.  The  remodeling  and 
enlarging  cost  32,534  pesos.  The  Transit  and  Building 
Fund  Society  furnished  $18,000,  the  balance,  over  $5,000, 
was  paid  out  of  the  earnings  of  Concepcion  College. 

The  attendance  at  the  school  increased  rapidly  and  the 
building  became  far  too  small.  To  furnish  the  needed 
accommodations  Mr.  Arms  constructed  seven  rooms  for 
dormitories  and  erected  a  two-story  building  at  the  rear 
of  the  lot  for  the  kindergarten  and  art  room,  at  a  cost 
of  $6,000,  all  of  which  was  paid  out  of  the  earnings  of 
the  school. 

CONCEPCION — COLEGIO  AMERICANO 

When  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arms  removed  from  Colegio 
Americano  to  Concepcion  College  in  March,  1903,  the 
Rev.  and  Mrs.  B.  O.  Campbell,  recently  arrived  from  the 
States,  took  charge  of  Colegio  Americano.  Under  their 
direction  the  school  continued  to  increase.  Larger  ac- 
commodations were  required.  Mr.  Campbell  erected  an 
additional  two-story  building  43  x  85  feet,  at  a  cost  of 
nearly  $6,000,  all  of  which  was  paid  for  out  of  the  earn- 
ings of  the  school. 

At  Huara,  in  the  Pampa,  near  the  center  of  the  nitrate 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          179 

district,  a  chapel  was  built  in  1893.  The  Rev.  W.  C. 
Hoover,  pastor  of  the  Iquique  church,  and  some  of  his 
helpers  often  visited  the  nitrate  oficinas,  establishments 
where  the  nitrate  was  extracted  from  the  rock  and  the 
impurities  with  which  it  mixed  in  mining.  The  work 
was  specially  successful  at  Huara.  One  of  the  converts 
who  made  money  with  a  saloon  was  converted.  He  emp- 
tied out  his  liquor,  and  became  an  active  Christian.  A 
chapel  was  built  at  a  cost  of  4,000  pesos,  he  giving  most 
of  the  money.  That  was  the  first  Protestant  church  built 
in  Chile  wholly  by  gifts  of  the  people. 

Due  to  the  fanaticism  and  spirit  of  persecution  it  was 
very  difficult  to  rent  property  in  Serena  for  a  church  and 
parsonage.  The  Rev.  W.  F.  Albright  in  the  third  year 
of  his  pastorate,  out  of  funds  which  he  provided,  pur- 
chased a  lot,  65  x  107  feet,  on  which  a  row  of  rooms 
extended  from  the  street  to  the  rear  of  the  lot.  Two  large 
rooms  made  into  one  were  used  for  a  chapel  and  the 
others  with  some  repairs  were  used  for  a  parsonage. 
Later  a  chapel,  which  was  capable  of  seating  250  people, 
was  built  on  the  other  part  of  the  lot.  Bishop  Warren 
dedicated  the  church  in  January,  1899.  The  total  cost 
was  between  $3,000  and  $4,000.  A  small  part  of  the 
money  was  raised  in  the  community.  The  mission  con- 
tinued to  pay  the  amount  formerly  given  for  rent.  This 
now  was  used  to  pay  the  interest,  and  the  balance  annually 
was  applied  on  the  debt.  In  a  few  years  with  this  and 
contributions  from  the  people  the  whole  debt  was  paid. 

The  Antofagasta  church  was  started  by  the  Rev.  Karl 
Beutelspacher  while  he  was  earning  his  living  working 
in  the  railroad  shops.  He  infused  into  it  the  spirit  of 
labor  and  sacrifice  which  he  possessed.  In  December, 
1895,  Beutelspacher  raised  1,000  pesos  and  bought  a  lot, 
the  members  of  his  church  contributing  generously.  The 


next  year  the  building  of  the  church  began,  but  it  was 
three  years  before  it  was  finished.  Services  were  held 
in  it,  however,  for  months  before  it  was  finished.  The 
total  cost  was  probably  $8,000.  The  people  contributed 
each  year  and  the  mission  paid  annually  what  formerly 
it  had  paid  for  rent  and  a  little  more,  till  the  debt  was 
paid. 

In  the  south  of  Chile  in  the  center  of  a  rich  agricul- 
tural section,  called  the  "frontera,"  the  larger  part  of 
which  was  still  forest,  the  government  had  laid  out  the 
town  of  Temuco.  Probably  one  third  of  the  surrounding 
country  was  still  in  the  hands  of  the  Araucanian  Indians. 
The  rest,  divided  into  farm  lots,  had  been  largely  taken 
up  by  settlers.  Sites  in  the  new  city  were  given  by  the 
government  on  the  condition  that  the  receiver  put  up  an 
inclosure  of  boards  six  feet  or  more  high  and  build  a 
house  eight  meters  long.  The  new  town  boomed.  Many 
properties  were  mortgaged.  The  new  settlers  out  on  the 
farms  beginning  in  the  forest  could  give  little  life  to  the 
new  city.  Hard  times  came.  Properties  went  down  and 
many  farms  were  sold  on  the  mortgage.  At  this  time, 
1898,  Bishop  Warren  visited  Temuco  in  company  with 
the  Rev.  G.  F.  Arms.  He  saw  the  most  desirable  lots  on 
the  market  and  confirmed  the  choice  already  made  by 
Mr.  Arms.  He  gave  no  money  and  assumed  no  respon- 
sibility, but  he  advised  Mr.  Arms  to  buy  the  lot,  and 
build  church,  parsonage,  and  rooms  for  a  school,  if  it  were 
possible  for  him  to  finance  the  project. 

Soon  Mr.  Arms  was  able  to  buy  the  lot  desired — a 
corner  lot  50  x  50  meters — located  a  half  square  from  the 
central  Plaza.  The  large  government  building  for  the 
intendencia,  the  post  office,  and  the  telegraph  office  is  sit- 
uated at  this  corner  of  the  Plaza  within  sixty  meters  of 
the  church  property.  Mrs.  Arms  had  received  some 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          181 

money  by  inheritance,  which  was  used,  and  good  friends 
loaned  him  the  rest  needed.  This  large  lot  so  well  lo- 
cated cost  3,700  pesos  cash.  A  chapel  seating  three  hun- 
dred, a  parsonage  of  seven  rooms  and  a  kitchen,  three 
schoolrooms,  a  dining  room,  two  bedrooms  and  a  kitchen 
for  the  teachers,  were  built  at  a  cost  of  9,000  pesos.  This 
was  early  in  1899.  Materials  were  exceedingly  cheap  in 
those  days. 

The  mission  also  paid  the  interest  on  the  obligation, 
which  was  not  met  by  the  rent  of  the  rooms  which 
were  on  the  lot  when  it  was  bought.  In  a  few  years  the 
Board  returned  to  Mr.  Arms  the  12,700  pesos  which  he 
had  advanced.  Two  more  rooms  were  built,  making 
seven  rooms  to  rent.  The  price  of  rents  advanced,  so 
the  income  from  these  rooms  has  been  sufficient  to  give 
six  per  cent  interest  on  the  whole  investment  from  the 
beginning.  Thus  the  mission  has  had  the  church,  par- 
sonage, schoolrooms,  and  two  thirds  of  the  lot  virtually 
free  of  cost 

The  services  started  at  Nueva  Imperial  had  gone  on 
well.  For  some  time  they  were  held  in  a 'large  room 
owned  by  Brother  Tomas  Neira.  After  his  death  the 
widow  had  no  means  with  which  to  pay  a  small  mort- 
gage of  1,000  pesos.  The  creditor  pressed  for  pay. 
Money  was  scarce  and  no  one  cared  to  purchase  the 
property.  The  mission  was  renting  it  for  a  chapel.  The 
widow  offered  it  to  the  mission,  and  Mr.  Arms  took  the 
responsibility  of  purchasing  it,  paying  only  150  pesos 
above  the  mortgage.  Brother  Signorelli,  a  local  preacher 
of  the  Concepcion  church,  had  loaned  him  1,000  pesos 
for  this  purpose.  The  lot  was  25  x  50  meters,  with  a 
house  not  entirely  finished  occupying  the  whole  front. 
Members  of  the  church  and  congregation  contributed  to 
finish  and  paper  the  large  room  which  was  used  as  a 


1 82   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

chapel,  and  to  put  in  better  condition  the  five  other  rooms 
as  a  home  for  the  pastor.  Thus  for  a  small  sum  the 
mission  came  into  possession  of  a  property  which  some 
years  later  became  very  valuable. 

Though  Brother  William  Standen  had  removed  to 
Victoria,  he  still  continued  the  services  at  Pailahueque. 
John  McCloud,  a  Scotch  settler,  had  been  converted. 
From  a  lot  which  he  had  he  gave  ground  on  which  to 
build  a  chapel.  Brother  Standen  secured  contributions 
of  lumber,  labor,  and  money,  and  in  1899,  with  some  aid 
from  the  mission,  built  a  chapel.  The  chapel  was  small 
but  quite  a  good  one,  seating  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  persons. 

A  few  years  later  Brother  McCloud  deeded  to  Mr. 
Arms  the  whole  lot,  80  x  80  feet,  in  loving  remembrance 
of  services  which  Mr.  Arms  rendered  to  Mrs.  McCloud, 
who  died  in  the  hospital  at  Concepcion  at  a  time  when 
Mr.  McCloud  was  sick. 

Brother  Standen,  in  extending  his  circuit  out  along  the 
line  of  the  railroad,  had  reached  Perquenco  and  had 
secured  quite  a  congregation  in  that  town.  A  church 
had  been  organized.  A  Chilean  woman,  a  widow,  had 
a  lot  25  x  50  meters,  right  in  the  center  of  the  town.  Her 
house,  built  on  the  front,  occupied  only  a  part  of  the 
lot.  In  1901  she  offered  the  rest  of  the  front  as  a  site 
for  a  chapel.  The  mission  promised  to  continue  paying 
for  a  few  years  the  allowance  which  it  had  been  paying 
for  rent.  With  the  help  secured  in  the  community,  espe- 
cially that  of  Mr.  Nicanor  Martinez,  a  chapel  was  built 
in  1902,  which  served  well  for  the  congregation.  Four 
years  later  the  sister  who  gave  the  lot  was  moving  to 
another  town.  She  must  sell  her  house  and  lot,  and  was 
not  willing  to  sell  to  a  Roman  Catholic  who  might  dis- 
turb us,  and  offered  for  the  insignificant  sum  of  300 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          183 

pesos  to  pass  over  to  the  mission  her  house  and  the  whole 
of  the  lot.  G.  F.  Arms  advanced  the  money  and  closed 
the  bargain,  then  passed  the  property  to  the  mission. 

When  Mr.  Canut  was  pastor  of  the  church  in  Concep- 
cion  in  1893,  he  made  two  trips  to  the  frontier,  visiting 
several  towns.  Among  the  places  visited  Angol  gave 
the  greatest  promise.  The  next  year  he  was  stationed 
there.  No  one  was  willing  to  rent  for  holding  Protestant 
services.  The  place  he  at  last  secured  was  not  suitable. 
A  two-story  house  was  offered  for  sale,  which  would 
serve  much  better  for  a  chapel  and  parsonage  than  the 
one  rented.  Brother  LaFetra  bought  it  on  his  own 
account  and  let  the  mission  have  it  at  the  same  rent  it 
was  paying  for  the  inferior  place.  The  house  was  built 
of  adobes  and  the  room  was  very  narrow,  not  large 
enough  for  a  chapel.  The  structure  was  such  that  it 
could  not  be  remodeled  to  advantage. 

The  owner  of  a  house  built  of  brick  on  a  lot  40  x  40 
meters  cornering  on  the  central  Plaza  went  to  Concep- 
sion  to  offer  the  property  to  Mr.  Arms,  as  he  could  not 
pay  the  mortgage  on  it,  and  a  foreclosure  would  be  made 
in  two  weeks.  He  offered  to  give  over  the  property  for 
300  pesos.  For  the  mission  it  was  worth  at  least  twice 
as  much  as  the  property  purchased  by  Brother  LaFetra. 
Mr.  Arms  at  once  consulted  with  Mr.  LaFetra,  who 
urged  the  purchase  and  helped  to  provide  the  6,000  pesos 
needed  for  the  300  and  the  mortgage.  (Later  on  the  mis- 
sion paid  back  the  6,000  which  had  been  advanced  to 
secure  this  property.)  Fortunately,  Mr.  LaFetra  soon 
had  an  opportunity  to  sell  the  house  he  bought,  at  2,000 
pesos  gain,  one  half  of  which  he  gave  to  the  mission  to 
help  pay  for  the  new  property. 

Brother  Zoilo  Munoz,  the  local  preacher,  had  charge 
of  the  services  at  Cura  Cautin  under  the  direction  of 


1 84   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

William  Standen,  the  pastor  in  charge  of  the  circuit. 
At  one  of  the  visits  made  by  Brother  Standen,  in  which 
he  held  services  for  several  days,  much  interest  was 
awakened  among  the  people.  Taking  advantage  of  this 
interest,  Brother  Standen  took  steps  to  secure  a  lot. 
This  was  in  1901.  The  following  year  a  chapel  was 
built,  finished  only  sufficiently  to  be  used  for  services. 
Later  the  chapel  was  finished,  and  in  a  few  years  rooms 
were  built  which  served  for  the  parsonage.  The  mission 
gave  little  aid  other  than  what  it  would  have  paid  for  a 
small  rent  during  four  or  five  years. 

As  early  as  June,  1894,  the  Rev.  W.  C.  Hoover,  the 
pastor,  began  collecting  money  to  build  a  church  for  the 
Spanish-speaking  congregation. 

The  sums  collected  were  increased  by  the  gift  of  2,000 
pesos  by  a  brother  whom  the  Lord  had  prospered.  Bishop 
McCabe  on  his  first  visit  early  in  1901  saw  the  great  need 
and  gave  $1,000  (American  gold).  Mr.  Hoover  contin- 
ued to  collect.  He  bought  a  small  lot  centrally  located  for 
2,000  pesos.  A  nice  church,  covering  the  whole  lot,  ca- 
pable of  seating  five  hundred,  was  begun  October  i.  By 
collections  and  subscriptions  2,629  pesos  more  were  se- 
cured, and  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  added  to  that 
$500  American  gold.  On  February  2,  1902,  Bishop  Mc- 
Cabe arrived  on  his  second  visit,  and  dedicated  the  church, 
having  first  secured  pledges  from  the  congregation  for 
900  pesos  to  cover  the  obligations.  In  addition  he  se- 
cured 400  more  for  the  purchase  of  an  organ  for  the 
new  church. 

A  good  number  of  the  members  of  the  Iquique  church 
had  gone  to  Punta  Arenas.  Pastor  Hoover  kept  in  close 
touch  with  them  by  correspondence  and  had  made  one 
good  visit  to  them.  They  were  under  the  care  of  Tiburcio 
Rojas,  a  faithful  local  preacher.  Brother  Hoover  sue- 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          185 

ceeded  in  awakening  the  interest  of  Bishop  McCabe  in 
this  far  southern  congregation  on  his  second  visit  in  1902, 
and  secured  a  gift  of  $1,000  for  the  purchase  of  a  lot  and 
the  building  of  a  chapel.  The  people  of  the  community 
helped.  A  lot  25  x  50  feet  was  purchased,  costing  2,100 
pesos,  on  which  a  house  capable  of  seating  two  hundred 
and  fifty  was  built  in  1904  which  was  used  for  a  chapel. 
The  building  was  constructed  with  the  thought  that  later 
partitions  would  be  put  in  and  use  made  of  it  for  a 
parsonage,  and  a  proper  church  edifice  would  be  con- 
structed. 

Pitrufquen  is  one  of  the  new  towns  just  across  the 
river  Tolten  in  the  province  of  Valdivia.  The  Central 
Railroad,  pushing  south  to  reach  Valdivia  and  Puerto 
Montt,  had  reached  there.  The  land  in  that  vicinity 
stretching  on  either  side  of  the  railroad  is  very  fertile. 
The  government  laid  out  lots  for  a  large  city.  They 
were  rapidly  taken.  Brother  Roberto  Olave,  then  pastor 
at  Temuco,  made  visits  to  Pitrufquen  and  held  services 
in  the  house  of  a  friend  of  the  cause.  His  mother  se- 
cured a  lot  centrally  located.  The  next  year,  1902,  she 
gave  it  to  Mr.  Arms  that  he  might  hold  it  for  the  mission. 
He  had  a  chapel  built.  Lumber  then  was  very  cheap,  so 
that  with  the  contributions  of  the  people  and  a  moderate 
amount  paid  as  rent  for  three  years  the  $1,000  the  chapel 
cost  was  all  paid,  and  the  titles  of  the  property  were 
passed  to  the  mission  free  of  debt. 

Near  the  southern  limit  of  the  province  of  Cautin, 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  river  Tolten,  on  the 
line  of  the  Central  Railroad,  Seiior  Osvaldo  Bustos  laid 
out  lots  on  his  property  for  a  towi..  It  was  in  the  midst 
of  a  heavily  wooded  section  and  a  most  convenient  center 
for  the  farmers  to  bring  their  lumber.  He  got  the  gov- 
ernment to  place  a  railroad  station  there. 


186   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

Pastor  Olave  after  holding  his  service  at  Pitrufquen 
Sunday  morning  would  walk  over  to  Freire  and  hold  a 
service  in  the  house  of  a  brother.  Pastor  Olave  was  a 
friend  of  Seiior  Bustos,  and  secured  from  him  the  gift 
of  a  lot.  The  brother  in  whose  house  the  service  was 
held  had  built  on  a  rented  lot.  He  moved  away.  For  a 
very  small  sum,  100  pesos,  he  sold  his  house  to  the  mis- 
sion. G.  F.  Arms  paid  for  it  and  gave  60  pesos  to  have 
it  transferred  to  the  lot  donated  by  Seiior  Bustos. 

Mariano  de  la  Cruz,  then  pastor  of  the  church  at 
Arica,  began  raising  money  in  1902  for  the  purchase  of 
a  lot  and  the  building  of  a  chapel.  He  raised  that  year 
400  pesos.  The  lot  was  not  bought  till  1904  by  Karl  Beu- 
telspacher,  at  a  cost  of  1,700  pesos.  He  built  a  chapel 
and  two  rooms  at  the  rear,  the  mission  paying  a  part  of 
the  cost. 

On  March  17,  1903,  W.  C.  Hoover,  then  pastor  at 
Valparaiso,  purchased  a  lot  on  Bolivar  Street  for  30,000 
pesos.  In  1901  the  Valparaiso  congregation  had  raised 
i, 800  pesos,  and  the  following  year  it  raised  5,800.  Mr. 
Hoover  had  raised  some  more  among  friends  in  Val- 
paraiso and  in  the  United  States.  Bishop  McCabe  gave 
6,000  pesos.  The  balance  of  the  $30,000  remained  on 
mortgage.  But  Brother  Hoover  continued  raising  money, 
and  on  March  17,  1905,  the  lot  was  all  paid  for.  By  1908 
20,000  pesos  had  been  collected  toward  a  church  edifice. 
The  Board  added  $3,000,  Bishop  Neely  another  $1,000, 
out  of  special  gifts  to  South  America. 

Some  persons  who  were  converted  in  Valparaiso  dur- 
ing the  pastorate  of  Jose  Torregrosa  went  to  Nogales. 
They  besought  him  to  visit  them  there.  He  held  a  serv- 
ice. Neighbors  were  invited  and  several  were  present. 
At  the  urgent  request  of  the  people  he  made  other  visits, 
they  paying  the  expenses,  Several  were  converted,  sev- 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          187 

enteen  at  one  time  joining  the  church.  Regular  services 
were  established  by  the  pastor  at  Quillota.  In  1903  a  lot 
was  purchased  and  a  chapel  was  built  which  was  com- 
pleted the  following  year.  The  expenses  were  met  by 
personal  gifts  secured  chiefly  in  Santiago. 


188   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 


CHAPTER  XI 
ECCLESIASTICAL  JURISDICTION 

CONFERENCE  RELATIONS  OF  MISSIONARIES 

BY  the  courtesy  of  the  Bishops  the  first  preachers 
who  were  sent  out  to  William  Taylor's  Self-Support- 
ing Missions  on  the  west  coast  of  South  America 
were  admitted  on  trial  in  Conference.  Most  of  them 
were  admitted  to  the  East  Maine  Annual  Conference. 
Not  long  after  the  Board  of  Bishops  ruled  that  the  men 
in  the  Taylor  Missions  could  not  be  elected  to  orders 
nor  be  under  episcopal  supervision  unless  the  mission 
was  in  a  "region  within  the  control  of  the  Missionary 
Society."  By  the  unanimous  request  of  the  Bishops 
the  General  Missionary  Committee  at  its  annual  meet- 
ing in  1878  extended  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Society 
so  as  to  include  all  South  America.  William  Taylor 
objected  to  this  action,  thinking  that  it  would  bring  him 
under  the  supervision  of  the  general  Missionary  Society, 
and  not  leave  him  free  to  work  according  to  his  own 
plans.  In  view  of  his  objection  the  Society  withdrew 
its  supervision.  Then,  in  accord  with  the  ruling  of  the 
Bishops  that  no  one  in  a  foreign  field  outside  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Missionary  Society  could  hold  Conference 
relations  or  church  membership,  the  preachers  were 
dropped  from  the  roll  of  the  Conferences  and  were  left 
without  a  name  or  place  in  Methodism,  and  thus  the 
Taylor  Missions  remained  without  the  pale  of  the  church. 

William  Taylor  thought  that,  according  to  the  prin- 
ciples and  purpose  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          189 

any  member  in  good  standing  might  organize  a  Method- 
ist church  anywhere  in  the  world  where  members  could 
be  secured  who  are  willing  to  support  it.  But  the  Mis- 
sionary Society  sustained  the  ruling  of  the  Bishops  by 
adopting  that  ruling  as  its  own  action  at  a  meeting  of 
the  Missionary  Committee  held  in  November,  1892.  A 
special  committee  was  appointed  to  notify  William  Tay- 
lor that  no  man  or  bishop  had  the  right  to  organize  a 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  outside  of  the  United  States, 
except  regular  missionaries  sent  out  under  the  authority 
and  working  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Missionary 
Society. 

William  Taylor  asked  the  Committee:  "What  of  my 
missions  in  South  America?"  They  answered:  "They 
are  out  of  order  and  cannot  be  recognized  as  Methodist 
missions.  The  preachers  you  have  there  who  belong  to 
Conferences  at  home  must  return  immediately  to  their 
work  in  the  United  States  or  locate."  Taylor  asked,  "By 
what  law  or  statute  of  Methodism  has  this  narrow  policy 
had  its  origin?"  Answer:  "Not  a  written  law,  but  the 
stronger  law  of  established  usage."  He  replied:  "I  can- 
not concur  in  the  decision  of  the  Missionary  Committee, 
but  will  pass  it  over  to  the  next  General  Conference.  I 
want  no  controversy  nor  agitation,  and  won't  be  a  party 
to  anything  of  the  sort.  I  will  take  the  first  steamer  to 
South  America."  In  his  published  report  he  adds:  "All 
my  men  and  women  in  South  America  were  loyal  Meth- 
odists, and  though  engaged  in  a  long,  toilsome  prepara- 
tory work  among  Roman  Catholic  populations,  they  were 
praying  and  hoping  for  the  coming  day  when  Methodist 
churches  would  dot  the  country  for  the  redemption  of 
which  their  toils  and  tears  were  freely  given.  Not  wish- 
ing to  ask  my  men  to  submit  to  a  humiliation  I  would 
not  share  with  them,  I  wrote  my  Conference — South 


190   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

India — to  grant  me  a  location  without  debate  and  have 
my  name  enrolled  as  a  located  minister  of  the  Quarterly 
Conference  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
Bombay.  That  is  the  way  I  gave  up  my  standing,  which 
I  prized  almost  as  much  as  I  did  my  life." 

By  the  ruling  of  the  Bishops  the  visit  of  Bishop  Har- 
ris in  1881  was  simply  one  of  inspection,  he  being  with- 
out episcopal  jurisdiction.  He  conferred  with  the 
workers  and  counseled  them  and  reported  to  the  church 
at  home  concerning  the  Taylor  Self-Supporting  Missions 
on  the  west  coast. 

The  fact  that  he  ordained  eight  men  who  had  been 
elected  to  orders  by  various  Conferences  in  the  States 
makes  evident  that  he  did  not  interpret  strictly  the  action 
of  the  Bishops  in  ruling  out  of  Conference  relations 
and  church-membership  all  persons  going  to  foreign  fields 
outside  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Missionary  Society.  He 
saw  the  urgent  need  for  the  ordination  of  such  persons 
and  considered  valid  the  action  of  the  Conferences  which 
had  elected  them  to  orders. 

UNDER   WHAT   ECCLESIASTICAL  JURISDICTION? 

The  question  naturally  arises,  Under  what  ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction  were  the  ordained  preachers  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Church  who  had  come  to  the  mis- 
sion, the  Bishops  having  declared  that  they  could  not  be 
members  of  a  Methodist  Conference,  nor  even  of  the 
church  ? 

Theoretically,  they  were  responsible  to  William  Taylor 
and  subject  to  his  orders,  though  he  was  not  acting  as 
bishop,  presiding  elder,  or  preacher  in  charge.  William 
Taylor  visited  the  west  coast  in  1887  and  made  arrange- 
ments for  opening  stations  and  for  the  support  of  the 
men  whom  he  was  to  send  out.  He  left  the  field  before 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         191 

any  of  those  men  arrived  and  did  not  return  for  five 
years.  His  jurisdiction,  therefore,  could  be  simply 
through  correspondence,  which  then  was  very  slow. 

In  1880  a  Conference  was  held  at  Santiago.  The  mis- 
sionaries present  fairly  represented  the  workers  in  Chile. 
Ira  H.  LaFetra  was  elected  president.  The  Conference 
elected  an  Executive  Committee  to  look  after  the  work 
during  the  year,  and  made  Mr.  LaFetra  the  chairman. 
In  view  of  that  action  William  Taylor  appointed  LaFetra 
as  his  representative  on  the  field.  Thus  he  became  vir- 
tually the  superintendent  of  the  mission.  Succeeding 
Conferences  continued  him  in  that  position  and  William 
Taylor  continued  him  also  as  his  representative,  though 
the  stations  in  Peru  and  at  Panama  were  so  far  away 
that  he  had  little  to  do  with  them.  In  1882  William  Tay- 
lor again  visited  the  mission  and  remained  till  about  the 
end  of  1883.  While  on  the  field  the  missionaries  looked 
to  him  as  supreme  in  authority.  But  the  correspondence 
shows  that  he  acted  in  full  consultation  with  LaFetra. 

TAYLOR'S  MEMORIAL  TO  THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE 

William  Taylor  was  elected  lay  delegate  of  the  South 
India  Conference  to  the  General  Conference  of  1884. 
He  presented  a  memorial  to  that  body  against  the  ruling 
of  the  Board  of  Bishops  and  the  action  of  the  Missionary 
Society  cutting  off  ministers  from  membership  in  Con- 
ference and  laymen  from  membership  in  the  church  when 
in  a  foreign  land  outside  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Mission- 
ary Society.  In  response  to  his  memorial  that  great  body 
so  altered  the  Discipline  that  the  existence  of  Methodist 
Episcopal  churches  in  foreign  countries  not  connected 
with  any  Conference  or  organized  mission  was  recog- 
nized and  legalized.  That  gave  all  the  missionaries  and 
also  the  members  whom  they  won  a  standing  as  mem- 


192   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

bers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  But  that  same 
General  Conference  elected  William  Taylor  Bishop  of 
Africa,  expecting  him  to  work  there  on  the  self-support- 
ing plan.  He  could  no  longer  give  his  time,  his  super- 
vision, and  the  gifts  of  his  friends  to  the  missions  he  had 
planted  on  the  west  coast  of  South  America.  Though 
run  on  the  self-supporting  plan,  yet  the  funds  for  the 
sending  out  of  the  missionaries,  something  for  equipment, 
and  also  aid  in  securing  properties  was  furnished  from 
money  which  William  Taylor  raised.  It  seemed  impos- 
sible for  the  mission  to  continue  without  this  help.  Some 
agency  must  be  secured  to  do  the  work  which  Taylor  had 
been  doing.  To  supply  that  agency,  before  leaving  for 
Africa,  he  organized  in  New  York  City  the  "Transit  and 
Building  Fund  Society." 

Thus  the  Taylor  Missions  on  the  west  coast  of  South 
America  came  under  the  jurisdiction  or  general  direction 
of  the  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society.  But  that 
Society  directly  appointed  Ira  H.  LaFetra  as  its  repre- 
sentative on  the  field.  Successive  Mission  Conferences 
continued  LaFetra  as  their  executive  officer.  Thus  the 
administration,  ecclesiastic  and  economic,  was  by  the 
Conference.  As  its  executive  LaFetra  was  not  dictatorial 
nor  autocratic.  He  carried  out  the  orders  of  the  Confer- 
ence. However,  because  of  his  long  experience  (most 
of  the  other  missionaries  remained  but  a  short  time),  his 
intimate  knowledge  of  the  work  in  all  the  stations,  his 
wisdom  which  all  recognized,  and  in  addition  his  whole- 
hearted giving  of  himself  in  untiring  self-sacrificing  serv- 
ice, the  missionaries  all  trusted  and  loved  him ;  and  much 
of  the  action  taken  by  the  different  Conferences  was 
originated  by  him. 

In  the  year  1887  the  Rev.  Asbury  Lowrey  and  Mrs. 
Lowrey  visited  the  William  Taylor  Missions  on  the  west 


mm 


»:'v\. 


METHODIST  K  PISCO  PAL  CHURCH,  CONCEPCION 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         193 

coast.  He  was  the  secretary  of  the  Transit  and  Build- 
ing Fund  Society,  and  a  very  influential  member  of  the 
directory. 

The  cholera  had  visited  the  west  coast  in  the  early 
part  of  the  year.  All  the  ports  to  the  north  were  closed. 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Lowrey  and  a  party  of  five  missionaries 
and  two  children  who  were  being  sent  out,  sailed  by  way 
of  England  and  the  Straits  of  Magellan.  They  visited 
all  the  stations.  He  reported  to  the  Society  and  pub- 
lished for  circulation  quite  a  full  account  of  the  condition 
in  which  he  found  the  work.  His  report  was  optimistic. 
Their  visit  resulted  in  much  good  to  the  mission,  espe- 
cially as  it  led  to  a  better  understanding  of  the  work  by 
the  Committee  in  New  York. 

The  reader  will  have  noticed  that  the  ecclesiastical  ad- 
ministration in  the  Taylor  West  Coast  Mission  was  abnor- 
mal. The  Conference  which  the  missionaries  had  organ- 
ized was  not  in  ecclesiastical  relations  like  other  Confer- 
ences. It  was  not  under  the  jurisdiction  of  a  bishop,  and 
the  missionaries  were  not  under  episcopal  appointment. 
To  remedy  this  abnormal  relation  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  1884  so  altered  the  Discipline,  as  already  stated, 
as  to  authorize  the  organization  of  churches  outside  of 
Conferences  and  missions  under  the  supervision  of  the 
Missionary  Society.  It  authorized  the  attachment  of 
churches  thus  organized  to  one  of  the  Conferences  in  the 
United  States  as  an  outlying  presiding  elder's  district. 

The  General  Conference  of  1888  went  farther  (see 
Journal,  pages  364  and  440).  It  declared  "that  the  plan 
of  self-support  inaugurated  by  William  Taylor  in  South 
America  and  Africa  deserves  an  opportunity  for  full 
development  under  the  fostering  care  of  the  church." 
It  expressed  the  fear  that  there  might  be  antagonism  if 
the  plan  were  brought  into  competition  with  the  estab- 


194   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

lished  methods  of  missionary  administration,  and  it  de- 
clared "that  missionaries  employed  and  churches  organ- 
ized on  the  self-supporting  plan  shall  be  entitled  to  the 
same  rights  and  be  amenable  to  the  discipline  of  the 
church  the  same  as  missionaries  and  churches  in  other 
fields.." 

In  1889  Bishop  Walden  made  an  episcopal  tour  of 
South  America.  He  reached  Santiago  on  the  I4th  of 
August,  and  left  for  Concepcion  on  the  I9th.  He  was 
sympathetic  in  spirit  and  made  a  careful  study  of  the 
work  in  the  different  mission  stations.  The  report  which 
he  gave  was  more  hopeful  and  encouraging  than  that  of 
Bishop  Harris,  but  his  estimate  of  self-supporting  work 
on  the  whole  was  decidedly  unfavorable  to  the  plan.  He 
ever  held,  however,  a  warm  place  in  his  heart  for  the 
mission  and  maintained  a  sincere  friendship  for  the  mis- 
sionaries whom  he  met  there,  and,  more,  he  always  used 
his  influence  in  favor  of  the  mission.  But  he  had  no 
proper  episcopal  jurisdiction  over  the  mission,  for  to 
that  date  nothing  had  been  done  to  connect  the  mission 
with  any  home  Conference. 

At  its  session  held  in  September,  1890,  the  Cincinnati 
Conference  admitted  the  churches  of  the  Taylor  Mission 
as  the  Chile  District  of  that  Conference.  At  that  time 
all  the  stations  which  had  been  started  at  Panama,  Guay- 
aquil, and  in  Peru  had  been  abandoned.  Those  in  Bo- 
livia were  in  territory  taken  from  Bolivia  by  Peru,  so 
that  the  district  was  properly  named  the  Chile  District. 
By  the  action  of  the  General  Conference  the  ruling  of  the 
Board  of  Bishops  that  no  minister  could  retain  his  Con- 
ference relations  when  working  in  a  foreign  field  outside 
of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Missionary  Society  had  been 
annulled.  Hence  missionaries  were  members  of  Con- 
ferences in  the  States.  On  the  formation  of  the  Chile 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          195 

District  of  the  Cincinnati  Conference,  Goodsil  F.  Arms, 
a  member  of  the  Vermont  Conference;  Roland  D.  Pow- 
ell, of  the  Ohio;  Ira  H.  LaFetra,  of  the  Austin;  and 
Harry  Compton,  of  the  New  England,  were  at  once  trans- 
ferred to  the  Cincinnati  Conference.  The  Rev.  James  P. 
Gilliland  had  labored  in  the  mission  since  1880.  He  was 
a  local  elder.  At  the  time  the  Chile  District  was  formed 
he  was  in  the  States  on  furlough.  He  was  recommended 
by  the  Madisonville  Quarterly  Conference  and  was  re- 
ceived into  the  Cincinnati  Conference  on  trial.  The 
bishop  presiding  appointed  him  presiding  elder  of  the 
Chile  District.  Harry  Compton  was  left  without  an 
appointment  to  continue  his  studies  in  the  Boston  School 
of  Theology.  The  others  named  were  appointed  in  the 
Chile  District,  and  in  addition  James  Benge,  Juan  Canut 
de  Bon,  and  A.  J.  Vidaure  were  appointed  as  supplies. 

THE  SOUTH  AMERICA  CONFERENCE  ORGANIZED 

The  General  Conference  of  1892  passed  an  enabling 
act  authorizing  the  forming  of  the  South  America  Con- 
ference to  embrace  all  the  missionary  work  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  in  South  America  into  one  Annual 
Conference.  In  May,  1893,  Bishop  Newman  visited  the 
missions  officially  on  the  west  coast  and  passed  to  the 
east  coast.  After  a  somewhat  thorough  inspection  of  the 
work  and  conversation  with  the  missionaries,  he  consid- 
ered it  advisable  to  organize  the  Conference  as  author- 
ized by  the  enabling  act.  Accordingly,  at  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Mission  in  the  Ar- 
gentine Republic,  at  Buenos  Ayres,  on  July  I,  1893,  tne 
organization  of  the  new  Conference  was  effected.  There 
were  present  only  the  members  of  the  Argentine  Mission. 
The  Chile  District  of  the  Cincinnati  Conference  was 
transferred  wholly  to  the  South  America  Conference 


196   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

and  I.  H.  LaFetra  was  reappointed  presiding  elder  and 
also  president  of  Santiago  College.  He  continued  as 
treasurer  of  the  mission  and  representative  of  the  Tran- 
sit and  Building  Fund  Society.  The  following  were 
transferred  from  the  Cincinnati  Conference:  As  effective 
elders — Goodsil  F.  Arms,  Wilbur  F.  Albright,  Roland  D. 
Powell;  Ira  H.  LaFetra  and  J.  P.  Gilliland  in  studies  of 
the  third  year;  Harry  Compton,  James  Benge,  Willis  C. 
Hoover,  and  Juan  B.  Canut  de  Bon  as  probationers,  but 
were  admitted  into  full  membership  when  the  Confer- 
ence was  organized.  Buel  O.  Campbell,  effective  elder, 
was  transferred  from  the  New  Hampshire  Conference. 
And  Karl  Beutelspacher  and  George  D.  Coleman  were 
received  on  trial.  All  these  belonged  to  the  Chile  Dis- 
trict and  were  appointed  there. 

I.  H.  LaFetra  in  a  pamphlet  published,  The  Chile  Mis- 
sion, says: 

The  report  of  the  work  made  by  Bishop  Newman  shows  a 
decided  advance  on  its  condition  as  reported  by  Bishop  Walden 
four  years  before.  Notwithstanding  all  the  discouraging  reports 
and  countless  difficulties  of  the  field,  the  mission  made  advance 
year  by  year,  and  the  evangelistic  work  became  more  prominent 
and  influential. 

The  sublime  faith  and  noble  generosity  of  the  Transit  and 
Building  Fund  Committee,  together  with  earnest  and  self-sacri- 
ficing devotion  of  the  men  and  women  in  the  field,  wrought  out 
results  worthy  of  the  name  of  Methodism,  and  deserve  and  will 
ever  have  her  gratitude  and  honor.  That  larger  results  could 
have  been  obtained  with  larger  means  and  more  missionaries, 
is  very  certain ;  but  the  work  accomplished  with  the  limited 
means  employed  will  compare  favorably  with  any  other  mission 
work  of  the  church. 

The  success  of  the  work  at  Callao  and  Lima,  Peru,  and 
on  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  had  been  small.  The  Rev.  J. 
M.  Baxter  withdrew  from  Peru  at  the  end  of  1887,  and 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          197 

that  work  was  not  continued.  The  work  on  the  Isthmus 
was  passed  over  to  Wesleyan  Church,  of  Jamaica,  thus 
closing  the  self-supporting  work  in  those  fields. 

The  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  opened  work  anew  in 
Peru  by  appointing  Dr.  Thomas  B.  Wood  to  Lima  with 
general  supervision  of  any  work  which  might  be  estab- 
lished to  the  north  of  Chile.  That  work  was  begun  not 
on  the  self-supporting  plan,  but  as  in  other  fields.  The 
administration  was,  therefore,  as  in  other  fields. 

A  SPECIAL  MISSION   CONFERENCE  FOR  CHILE 

Though  forming  a  district  of  the  South  America  Con- 
ference the  work  in  Chile  still  remained  on  the  self-sup- 
porting plan.  It  had,  therefore,  its  own  special  problems 
of  administration.  To  meet  them  there  was  held  an 
annual  Mission  Conference  composed  of  all  the  mission- 
aries, ministerial  and  lay,  and  also  all  the  native  minis- 
ters appointed  to  charges.  This  body  attended  to  the 
securing  of  the  funds  and  the  distribution  of  the  same  for 
the  support  of  the  evangelistic  work,  and  authorized  the 
amounts  which  the  schools  might  spend  for  repairs  and 
improvements  out  of  funds  provided  by  the  Transit  and 
Building  Fund  Society  and  from  funds  which  the  schools 
themselves  had  earned.  It  made  up  the  estimates  in  the 
appeal  for  aid  from  the  Transit  Society.  In  fact,  it  ad- 
ministered the  mission,  making  the  plans  for  the  work  in 
the  churches  and  in  the  schools,  adjusting  the  workers 
according  to  the  needs.  For  the  purely  ecclesiastical 
matters,  such  as  recommendations  for  Conference  rela- 
tions, consecration  to  orders,  a  District  Conference  was 
held  composed  of  those  who  by  the  Discipline  were 
entitled  to  membership.  Thus  all  matters  in  which  the 
Annual  Conference  had  to  do  with  the  Chile  Mission 


reached  that  body  according  to  the  requirements  of  the 
Discipline. 

In  1894  a  Mission  Conference  was  held  at  Santiago 
the  second  week  of  February,  which  was  well  attended. 
At  the  same  time  a  District  Conference  was  held  for  the 
purpose  of  attending  to  the  licensing  of  exhorters,  local 
preachers,  recommendations  for  Conference  relations  and 
for  orders,  and  any  other  matters  which  belonged  ecclesi- 
astically to  a  District  Conference. 

The  Rev.  I.  H.  LaFetra,  presiding  elder,  was  in  the 
chair.  G.  F.  Arms  was  elected  secretary.  The  following 
members  were  present :  Karl  Beutelspacher,  Antof  agasta ; 
Harry  Compton,  Serena ;  W.  F.  Albright,  Coquimbo ; 
I.  H.  LaFetra,  R.  D.  Powell,  and  P.  Cuppitt,  Santiago; 
G.  F.  Arms,  B.  O.  Campbell,  J.  B.  Canut,  E.  P.  Currier, 
G.  Coleman,  and  I.  Romero,  Concepcion. 

After  examination  P.  Cuppitt  was  recommended  for 
admission  on  trial  in  the  Annual  Conference  and  to  dea- 
con's orders.  Indalecio  Romero  passed  an  examination 
of  unusual  excellence  and  was  recommended  for  admis- 
sion on  trial.  That  was  within  eight  months  from  the 
date  of  his  conversion.  George  Coleman  passed  a  satis- 
factory examination  and  was  recommended  for  recep- 
tion on  trial,  and  to  an  appointment  as  an  assistant  pastor. 
Henry  Williams  and  Alonzo  Walters  were  licensed  as 
local  preachers. 

LaFetra,  Arms,  and  Campbell  were  appointed  a  Com- 
mittee on  Comity  to  act  with  a  similar  committee  ap- 
pointed by  the  Presbyterian  Mission. 

At  the  time  of  the  organization  of  the  South  America 
Annual  Conference  by  Bishop  Newman  in  July,  1893, 
none  of  the  members  from  the  missions  on  the  west  coast 
were  present.  The  first  full  meeting  of  this  Conference 
was  that  held  at  Mcndoza,  Argentina,  February  16-20, 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          199 

1894.  By  appointment  of  Bishop  Newman,  Charles  W. 
Drees  presided.  G.  F.  Arms  was  elected  secretary  for 
the  official  Minutes,  which  were  in  English,  and  William 
Tallon  for  the  Minutes  in  Spanish. 

I.  Romero  and  P.  Cuppitt  were  admitted  on  trial,  and 
George  B.  Benedict  was  received  by  transfer  from  the 
Wyoming  Conference.  LaFetra  and  Compton  became 
effective  elders. 

By  appointment  of  the  Board  of  Bishops,  Bishop  J.  N. 
FitzGerald  was  appointed  in  charge  of  South  America 
for  1895.  He  visited  the  west  coast  at  the  beginning  of 
the  year  and  held  the  Chile  District  Conference.  G.  F. 
Arms  was  secretary.  There  was  a  full  attendance  at  this 
Conference,  and  the  granting  of  licenses,  renewal  of  li- 
censes, recommendations  to  the  Annual  Conference  were 
made.  Reports  were  received  from  all  parts  of  the  work 
in  the  Chile  Mission,  and  plans  were  made  for  the  new 
year,  even  to  the  stationing  of  the  workers  and  the  fix- 
ing of  their  salaries.  Thus  the  Annual  Conference  simply 
sanctioned  what  was  done  at  the  District  Conference. 

By  the  organization  of  the  South  America  Confer- 
ence, which  embraced  the  Chile  Mission,  the  work  of 
that  mission  came  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  general 
Missionary  Society  and  steps  had  been  taken  to  pass  the 
mission  from  the  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society  to 
the  Missionary  Society.  The  mission  being  on  the  self- 
supporting  plan  its  relation  to  the  Missionary  Society  was 
not  well  defined.  A  committee  was  appointed  consisting 
of  LaFetra,  Albright,  Arms,  Winans,  and  Campbell,  to 
consider  the  relation  of  the  Chile  Mission  to  the  Mission- 
ary Society.  The  Committee  presented  the  following 
report,  which  was  adopted  (Minutes,  1895) : 

Inasmuch  as  the  mission  work  in  Chile,  which  was  developed 
and  carried  on  by  the  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society,  has 


200   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

been  transferred  to  the  control  and  management  of  the  Mission- 
ary Society,  on  the  condition  that  it  shall  be  conducted  on  the 
plan  of  self-support  as  formulated  in  the  charter  of  the  Transit 
and  Building  Fund  Society,  we  believe  that  a  fair  and  full  trial 
should  be  given  the  work  under  the  most  favorable  conditions 
which  that  charter  provides  for. 
We  understand  the  work  to  be  this : 

1.  "To  provide  a  suitable  outfit  for  missionary  preachers  and 
teachers." 

We  understand  this  provision  to  mean  that  the  Missionary 
Society  shall  pay  for  all  furniture,  desks,  apparatus,  libraries, 
and  other  appliances  for  our  schools,  parsonages,  and  churches, 
which  may  not  be  paid  for  by  special  contributions,  subscrip- 
tions, and  donations  secured  from  congregations  and  friends  on 
the  field  for  this  purpose. 

2.  "To  pay  the  passage  of  preachers  and  teachers  to  foreign 
countries." 

We  understand  this  provision  requires  that  the  Missionary 
Society  shall  pay  the  passage  and  incidental  expenses  of  mis- 
sionaries from  their  homes  to  their  destination,  and  to  their 
homes  again  after  a  term  of  services  as  hereinafter  explained. 

3.  "To  pay  the  traveling  expenses  of  pioneer   evangelists   in 
those  countries." 

We  understand  by  this  provision  that  the  Missionary  Society 
can  pay  the  traveling  expenses  of  the  presiding  elder,  and  of 
teachers  and  preachers  when  appointed  to  work  in  another  sta- 
tion, of  preachers  appointed  to  circuit  work,  and  all  preachers 
attending  the  Annual  Conferences,  and  of  teachers  attending 
the  biennial  meeting  of  the  missionaries. 

4.  "To  build  or  purchase  dwelling  houses,  schoolhouses,  and 
houses  of  worship  for  the  use  of  the  missionaries." 

We  understand  by  this  provision  that  the  Missionary  Society 
shall  buy  or  build  suitable  parsonages,  schoolhouses,  and  churches 
and  all  other  property  needed  for  the  use  of  the  mission  as  rap- 
idly as  the  development  of  the  work  may  demand,  make  all 
needed  repairs  and  enlargements  of  such  buildings,  pay  insur- 
ance and  taxes  on  the  same,  and  pay  the  rent  on  buildings  so 
used  when  not  owned  by  the  Society. 

5.  "To  translate  the  sacred   Scriptures  and   suitable  religious 
and  literary  publications  into  foreign  languages,  and  to  print  and 
publish  the  same." 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         201 

We  understand  by  this  provision  that  the  Missionary  Society 
shall  fully  equip  the  mission  printing  office  with  building,  plant, 
and  working  capital  to  do  all  needed  printing  for  the  mission, 
make  adequate  appropriation  for  printing  tracts,  religious  books 
and  periodicals,  and  textbooks  for  the  schools. 

6.  "The  funds  of  this  Society  shall  not  be  used  to  pay  sal- 
aries of  agents  at  home,  nor  of  preachers  or  teachers  in  foreign 
countries." 

We  understand  by  this  restriction  that  the  Society  is  at  liberty 
and  should  pay  all  expenses  of  carrying  on  the  mission  aside 
from  the  salaries  and  living  expenses  of  the  missionaries  and 
the  necessary  expenses  of  the  schools,  except  in  so  far  as  these 
may  be  met  by  voluntary  contributions  obtained  on  the  field. 

Furthermore,  the  following  arrangements  have  been  in  force 
in  the  mission  by  agreement  with  the  Transit  and  Building  Fund 
Society : 

1.  The  preachers  and  teachers  in  Conference  assembled  have 
fixed  their  own  salaries,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Society, 
and  this  arrangement  we  believe  should  continue. 

2.  The  schools  have  been  required  heretofore,  except  in  cases 
of  special  difficulty,  to  pay  into  the  fund  for  evangelical  Spanish 
work  an  apportionment  equal  to  five  per  cent  on  the  currency 
investment  in  their  respective  properties.     The   further  surplus 
from  the  income  of  the  schools  has  been  at  the  disposal  of  the 
director  of  the  school  (with  the  advice  and  counsel  of  the  super- 
intendent)   for  use   in  benefit  of  the  school  either   for  repairs, 
improvements,  furniture,  appliances,  or  other  needs.    We  believe 
that  these  repairs,  improvements,  and  furniture  accounts  should 
be  wholly  met  by  the  Missionary  Society,  and  the  entire  surplus 
of  the  schools  devoted  to  evangelical  Spanish  work.    If  this  were 
done,  we  could  double  and  even  treble  the  available  funds  for 
this  purpose.     The  income  from  the  labors  of  teachers  should 
not  be  used  for  investment  in  property  but  for  direct  gospel  work. 

3.  Missionaries  giving  five  years  of  service  to  the  work  have 
been  privileged  to  visit  home  and  have  their  traveling  expenses 
refunded  to  them  in  case  they  returned  to  the  field  again.    We 
believe  this  provision  should  be  enlarged  to  provide  for  the  home 
passage  of  all  missionaries  after  five  years  of  labor,  and  sooner 
in  case  of  failing  health. 

a.  More  than  this.  We  believe  that  the  Missionary  Society 
should  make  the  same  provision  for  the  superannuated  preach- 


202   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

ers  and  invalid  teachers  of  this  work  as  is  made  for  those  of 
other  mission  fields  of  the  church. 

b.  We  believe  that  the  appropriations  to  meet  the  needs  of  this 
work  must  be  made  directly  from  the  funds  of  the  Missionary 
Society  and  not  by  conditional  appropriations,  which  leave  the 
mission  without  any  sure  basis  on  which  to  conduct  its  work. 

c.  We  believe  that  if  this,  our  understanding  of  the  plan  of 
self-support  to  be  operated  in  this  field,  cannot  be  put  into  prac- 
tice in  all  its  essential  features,  it  is  the  imperative  duty  of  the 
Board  of  Managers  and  the  General  Missionary  Committee  now 
in  control,  to  effect  such  other  plans  as  shall  enable  us  to  prose- 
cute the  work  on  as  favorable  conditions  as  would  be  afforded 
by  the  self-supporting  plan  as  herein  set  forth. 

We  believe  that  on  the  plan  of  this  mission  a  large  and  ever- 
growing work  for  the  evangelization  of  Chile  can  be  carried 
forward  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  the 
building  up  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  all  departments  of 
church  work. 

We  respectfully  urge  upon  the  Board  of  Managers  and  Gen- 
eral Missionary  Committee  the  importance  of  agreement  with 
the  mission  upon  the  questions  presented  in  this  report,  and  ear- 
nestly request  Bishop  FitzGerald  to  bring  them  to  the  attention 
of  the  Board  at  an  early  day,  that  we  may  be  able  to  enter  upon 
the  earnest  and  enlarged  prosecution  of  the  work  in  this  most 
needy  field. 

The  Annual  Conference  was  held  in  Buenos  Ayres, 
March  6-12,  1895,  under  the  presidency  of  Bishop  Fitz- 
Gerald. William  Tallon  was  secretary.  I.  H.  LaFetra 
and  G.  F.  Arms  were  the  only  members  of  the  Chile  Mis- 
sion who  attended  that  Conference. 

No  bishop  was  present  at  the  Conferences  of  1896. 
The  District  and  Mission  Conferences  were  held  in  San- 
tiago under  the  presidency  of  the  Rev.  Ira  H.  LaFetra. 
The  Annual  Conference  was  held  in  Buenos  Ayres  Feb- 
ruary 26  to  March  4  under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  C.  W. 
Drees.  The  only  members  attending  from  Chile  were 
LaFetra,  Romero,  and  Wilson.  Being  an  Annual  Con- 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          203 

ference,  it  was  entitled  to  elect  delegates  to  the  General 
Conference.  Dr.  C.  W.  Drees  was  elected  delegate  and 
Dr.  Ira  H.  LaFetra  alternate. 

In  1897  the  Chile  Mission  held  its  regular  District  and 
Mission  Conference,  LaFetra  presiding,  with  G.  F.  Arms 
secretary.  The  members  were  consulted  in  regard  to  the 
advisability  of  organizing  the  missions  on  the  west  coast 
into  a  Mission  Conference.  The  General  Conference  of 
1896  had  passed  an  enabling  act  authorizing  the  division 
of  the  South  America  Annual  Conference  into  an  Annual 
Conference  and  a  Mission  Conference.  The  South  Amer- 
ica Annual  Conference  met  in  Monte vidio,  holding  its 
sessions  February  7-12,  under  the  presidency  of  Bishop 
Vincent.  No  members  from  Chile  were  present.  By  the 
unanimous  vote  of  those  present  it  was  agreed  to  so  divide 
the  Conference  as  to  form  an  Annual  Conference  embrac- 
ing all  the  missionary  work  in  Argentina,  Uruguay,  Para- 
guay, and  Brazil,  and  to  form  a  Mission  Conference  of 
the  Chile  Mission  and  the  missions  in  Peru,  and  others 
which  might  be  formed  in  the  republics  of  the  west  coast. 

After  finishing  all  business  which  came  before  it  at 
Montevideo  on  February  13,  the  Conference  adjourned 
to  meet  at  Santiago,  Chile,  on  the  igth.  Dr.  C.  W.  Drees 
and  Dr.  William  Tallon,  the  secretary  of  the  Conference, 
accompanied  Bishop  Vincent  to  Santiago.  The  Bishop 
had  called  to  meet  at  Santiago  all  the  members  of  the 
South  America  Conference  laboring  in  Chile  and  Peru. 
All  those  of  Chile  were  present.  To  complete  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Conference  G.  F.  Arms  was  elected  assist- 
ant secretary  and  E.  E.  Wilson  assistant  treasurer. 

All  the  business  of  an  Annual  Conference  concerning 
its  members,  Conference  studies,  Conference  relations, 
etc.,  which  had  to  do  with  the  members  of  the  South 
America  Conference  stationed  west  of  the  Andes,  was 


204   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

transacted.  Then,  on  motion  of  C.  W.  Drees,  the  mem- 
bers present  voted  unanimously  in  favor  of  the  division 
of  the  Conference  as  authorized  by  the  General  Confer- 
ence, the  division  to  be  that  agreed  upon  by  those  who 
were  present  at  the  sessions  held  in  Montevideo.  For 
the  Conference  embracing  the  territory  to  the  west  of  the 
Andes  the  name  "Western  South  America  Mission  Con- 
ference" was  adopted.  It  was  agreed  that  the  first  meet- 
ing of  that  Conference  be  held  in  Concepcion  the  follow- 
ing year.  The  Bishop  divided  the  new  Conference  into 
three  districts,  and  appointed  I.  H.  LaFetra  presiding 
elder  of  the  Santiago  District,  G.  F.  Arms  of  Concepcion 
District,  W.  C.  Hoover  of  Iquique  District,  and  T.  B. 
Wood  of  the  Peru  District,  which  nominally  embraced 
all  the  west  coast  to  the  north  of  Chile. 

Bishop  Warren  was  placed  in  charge  of  South  America 
for  the  years  1898  and  1899.  He  made  a  somewhat  pro- 
longed and  more  thorough  investigation  of  the  work  of 
the  mission  than  any  of  his  predecessors.  He  presided 
at  the  Conference  at  Concepcion  in  1898  and  at  Santi- 
ago in  1899.  At  Concepcion  on  February  23,  1898,  he 
organized  the  Western  South  America  Mission  Confer- 
ence as  authorized  at  the  Conference  held  the  previous 
year. 

Cecilio  Venegas  and  Charles  Griffith  were  received  into 
full  membership,  and  B.  B.  Keister  by  transfer  from  the 
North  Nebraska  Conference. 

The  question  of  the  administration  of  the  funds  of  the 
schools  and  the  fixing  of  the  salaries  to  be  paid  to  the 
teachers  was  brought  before  the  Conference  by  G.  F. 
Arms,  as  some  of  the  missionary  preachers  had  claimed 
that  only  the  missionaries  who  were  members  of  the 
Mission  Conference  had  a  right  to  a  voice  in  the  admin- 
istration. E.  E.  Wilson  made  a  motion  to  that  effect. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         205 

After  a  full  discussion  the  motion  was  lost.  I.  H.  LaFetra 
moved  that  the  Bishop  be  requested  to  call  a  conference 
of  all  the  members  of  the  Mission  to  treat  of  all  matters 
which  do  not  come  within  the  province  of  the  Mission 
Conference.  The  Bishop  called  such  a  meeting  and  the 
question  of  the  administration  of  the  schools  and  other 
matters  were  considered. 

As  Bishop  Warren  was  in  charge  for  two  years  and 
visited  the  stations  much  more  than  the  bishops  before 
him  had  done,  he  knew  the  work  as  they  did  not.  On 
account  of  their  short  visits  their  work  had  been  that  of 
inspection  rather  than  of  administration.  The  workers 
counseled  with  them.  Though  Bishop  Warren's  super- 
vision was  so  much  more  complete  yet  his  administration 
was  that  of  a  counselor.  His  careful  study  of  the  work, 
his  wisdom,  and  his  great  experience  as  a  bishop  made  his 
counsels  of  the  highest  value.  He  said  that  in  the  con- 
ditions which  prevail  in  Chile,  where  the  support  of  the 
work  is  so  largely  won  by  the  missionaries  on  the  field 
under  a  plan  of  self-support  which  has  been  developed 
through  years  of  experience  by  the  men  in  charge,  the 
burden  of  the  support  falls  chiefly  upon  them.  The  ad- 
ministration of  the  churches  at  home  is  in  the  hands  of 
the  pastors  and  the  local  church  with  some  supervision 
on  the  part  of  the  presiding  elder.  The  bishop  in  the 
mission  field  can  visit  only  some  of  the  more  important 
stations,  and  that  but  once  a  year.  Hence  the  burden  of 
the  responsibility  in  administration,  in  the  nature  of  the 
case,  must  fall  chiefly  upon  the  missionaries  in  charge, 
as  does  the  burden  of  the  support.  The  same  position 
was  taken  virtually  by  each  of  the  bishops  who  succeeded 
Bishop  Warren  till  Bishop  Neely  was  appointed  in  1904. 

In  1899  F.  C.  Allen,  R.  Olave,  C.  Signorelli,  and  J.  S. 
Valenzuela  were  received  on  trial. 


206   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

Bishop  Ninde  had  episcopal  supervision  for  the  year 
1900,  and  presided  at  the  Conference  held  in  Valparaiso. 
C.  H.  Holland  and  C.  H.  Wertenberger  were  received 
on  trial. 

Bishop  McCabe  had  episcopal  supervision  for  1901 
and  1902.  He  presided  at  the  Conference  held  in  Iqui- 
que  February  6-n,  1901,  and  at  Santiago  February  13- 
18,  1902.  In  1901  F.  M.  Harrington,  John  L.  Reeder, 
George  E.  Allan,  William  T.  Robinson,  and  Harry  Comp- 
ton  were  received  by  transfer  from  other  Conferences. 
In  1902  M.  T.  Pusey  was  received  by  transfer  from  the 
Iowa  Conference  and  Adelbert  S.  Watson,  H.  B.  Shinn, 
Mariano  de  la  Cruz,  and  Wenceslao  Peralta  were  re- 
ceived on  trial. 

Bishop  Isaac  W.  Joyce  had  supervision  during  1903 
and  till  November,  1904.  He  presided  at  the  Confer- 
ence held  in  Concepcion  February,  1903,  and  in  Santiago 
in  1904.  At  Concepcion  William  Standen,  Carlos  Leigh- 
ton,  P.  F.  Marti,  and  Ruperto  Algorta  were  received 
on  trial. 

At  Santiago  Jose  M.  Diaz,  Carl  Hansen,  Samuel  Tor- 
regrosa,  and  Carlos  R.  Reyes  were  received  on  trial. 

CHANGES 

The  General  Conference  of  1900  passed  an  enabling 
act  authorizing  the  division  of  the  Western  South  Amer- 
ica Mission  Conference  into  a  Mission  Conference  and  a 
mission.  It  then  authorized  the  change  of  the  Mission 
Conference  into  an  Annual  Conference.  At  the  Mission 
Conference  which  met  at  Iquique  under  the  presidency 
of  Bishop  McCabe  on  February  8,  1901,  the  motion  was 
passed  that,  the  bishop  approving,  the  Conference  be 
organized  into  an  Annual  Conference.  Bishop  McCabe 
then  made  formal  announcement  that  the  word  "Mission" 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         207 

be  stricken  from  the  minutes  and  that  the  name  of  the 
Conference  be  Western  South  America.  Thus  the  Con- 
ference became  an  Annual  Conference. 

At  the  time  of  its  organization  fourteen  of  its  mem- 
bers were  missionaries,  and  seven  native  preachers. 
Three  of  the  probationers  were  missionaries  and  two 
natives. 

Though  the  Chile  Mission  became  ecclesiastically  con- 
nected with  the  Cincinnati  Conference  as  one  of  its  dis- 
tricts, the  self-supporting  plan  started  by  William  Taylor 
and  continued  while  the  mission  formed  a  part  of  the 
South  America  Conference  and  the  Western  South  Amer- 
ica Conference  until,  at  the  meeting  of  the  General  Com- 
mittee of  the  Missionary  Society  in  November,  1903, 
when  it  was  so  modified  that  the  administration  of  the 
evangelistic  work  was  placed  on  the  same  plan  as  in  other 
mission  fields.  The  schools  and  the  publishing  house 
were  to  be  continued  on  the  same  self-supporting  plan, 
except  that  the  Missionary  Society  took  more  responsi- 
bility in  the  administration  while  not  claiming  to  assume 
any  financial  responsibility  in  the  support  of  the  schools 
or  the  press.  When,  however,  the  Publishing  House  and 
Iquique  College  became  embarrassed  with  debts  which 
had  accrued  during  the  several  years  when  the  institu- 
tions named  were  unable  to  meet  expenses,  the  Mission- 
ary Society  did  give  aid. 

With  the  change  of  plan,  the  budget  for  the  support 
of  the  evangelistic  work  going  to  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions,  the  special  conference  of  all  the  workers  in 
the  Mission  to  plan  the  work,  make  the  estimates  for 
expenses  for  the  same,  and  to  provide  for  raising  the 
needed  funds,  ceased  to  be  held.  The  Board  named  a 
Finance  Committee  which  prepared  the  estimates  of 
funds  which  could  be  raised  on  the  field  and  of  what  was 


208   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

needed  from  the  Board.  The  funds  available  were  dis- 
tributed to  the  work  by  the  Finance  Committee  and  the 
bishop  in  charge.  Thus  the  old  system  under  which  the 
mission  had  been  administered  on  the  self-supporting  plan 
for  twenty-five  years  went  out  of  use. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         209 


CHAPTER  XII 

RESULTS— TWENTY-FIVE    YEARS    OF    SELF- 
SUPPORT 

As  the  first  missionaries  of  the  William  Taylor  Self- 
Supporting  Missions  on  the  west  coast  of  South  Amer- 
ica sailed  from  New  York  July  i,  1878,  and  the  date 
when  the  change  of  administration  from  the  William 
Taylor  self-supporting  plan  went  into  effect  was  Janu- 
ary i,  1904,  twenty-five  years  and  six  months  had  passed 
since  the  date  of  sailing  of  the  first  party.  The  question 
naturally  arises,  What  results  had  been  secured  in  the 
mission  during  those  twenty-five  years?  We  undertake 
to  give  a  brief  statement  of  those  results. 

At  the  end  of  the  period,  1903,  there  were  engaged  in 
the  work  of  the  mission  44  American  missionaries,  and 
there  were  14  native  workers  engaged  in  evangelistic 
work  and  a  still  larger  number  in  the  schools.  There 
were  12  churches  and  chapels  owned  by  the  mission, 
valued  at  $58,000,  and  8  parsonages  valued  at  $22,000. 
There  were  4  large  boarding  and  day  schools  with  prop- 
erties valued  at  $120,000,  and  in  addition  several  small 
day  schools  directly  connected  with  the  churches. 

There  were  1,279  church  members  and  1,168  proba- 
tioners, 3,045  members  of  the  Sunday  schools,  and  nearly 
1,000  pupils  in  the  large  advanced  schools,  besides  those 
in  the  parochial  schools.  So  much  for  statistics. 

In  most  missions  of  whatever  denomination,  statistics 
if  taken  by  themselves  to  indicate  the  results  accom- 
plished, are  disheartening.  Every  person  who  knows  the 


210   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

work  of  missions  well  understands  that  the  converts  en- 
rolled as  church  members  form  a  small  part  of  the  popu- 
lation upon  whom  lasting  influence  has  been  exerted.  The 
aim  of  all  true  missionary  work  is  to  completely  trans- 
form the  whole  moral  and  religious  thought  and  life  of  the 
nation.  Every  work  which  is  a  true  missionary  work 
throws  out  powerful  currents  of  influence  into  the  nation. 
In  this  kind  of  work  the  Chile  Mission  has  few  peers. 
Many  were  the  hearts  and  minds  from  the  most  influen- 
tial families  of  the  republic  which  were  constantly  under 
the  daily  teaching  and  influence  of  godly  teachers,  whose 
chief  aim  was  to  build  the  Christ  ideals  and  character 
into  their  young  lives.  Millions  on  millions  of  pages  of 
tracts  have  been  printed  and  distributed.  Thousands  of 
Bibles  and  Testaments  have  been  sold.  Pioneer  evan- 
gelists have  preached  to  multitudes,  and  our  converts  are 
living  and  working  witnesses  of  the  power  of  the  gospel 
to  save  from  vice  and  sin  and  intemperance.  Persons 
like  the  LaFetras  who  knew  Chile  at  the  very  beginning 
of  the  mission  and  knew  it  well  through  twenty-eight 
years  of  consecrated  labors,  and  like  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arms, 
who  gave  more  years  of  labor  than  any  others,  know 
what  great  changes  have  taken  place,  how  the  attitude  of 
the  people  has  changed  toward  evangelical  religion  as 
represented  by  the  Protestant  faith.  They  know  how 
great  has  been  the  change  in  the  people  concerning  the 
injurious  effects  of  alcohol,  and  how  they  have  changed 
toward  other  moral  reforms.  More,  often  have  testimo- 
nies come  from  former  pupils  in  the  hour  of  sickness  and 
death  showing  a  real  saving  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  pupils 
who  never  openly  declared  themselves  Protestant  Chris- 
tians and  never  formally  broke  away  from  the  Church 
of  Rome. 

In  1897  the  increase  in  membership  was  24  per  cent. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         211 

A  previous  year  it  reached  35  per  cent.  More  than  2,000 
copies  a  year  for  several  years  of  the  little  Spanish  hymn 
book  published  by  our  press  in  Santiago  were  sold. 

Bishop  Warren  in  his  report,  after  speaking  of  the 
founders  of  the  mission,  said:  "If  our  society  [the  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions]  is  as  wise  to  advance  as  these  men 
have  been  to  found,  the  Chile  Mission  will  be  one  of  the 
greatest  successes  of  the  century.  God  be  praised." 
About  $25,000  was  raised  on  the  field  that  year  for  the 
support  o'f  the  work. 

To  be  able  to  form  a  correct  judgment,  or  anything 
near  one,  as  to  whether  the  Chile  Mission  in  its  twenty- 
five  years  of  labor  accomplished  what  by  right  it  ought 
to  have  accomplished  it  is  necessary  to  know  something 
in  regard  to  the  ease  or  the  difficulty  in  securing  results 
in  that  field.  The  only  way  to  reach  a  fair  conclusion  in 
regard  to  that  is  by  comparison  with  results  accomplished 
in  other  fields  where  conditions  are  quite  similar. 

In  the  critical  days  due  to  the  complications  in  admin- 
istration on  account  of  the  action  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence and  the  general  Missionary  Committee  in  bringing 
this  self-supporting  mission  into  connection  with  the 
missionary  work  under  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
and  to  some  extent  under  its  supervision,  the  representa- 
tives of  the  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society  thought 
it  to  be  impossible  for  that  Society  to  continue  its  work 
in  this  field.  It  then  seemed  uncertain  whether  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  would  accept  this  mission  as 
a  part  of  its  work.  It  looked  as  if  the  mission  might  be 
abandoned  and  all  the  labor  and  sacrifice  which  had  been 
given  to  it  go  for  nothing.  The  representatives  of  the 
Transit  Society  were  contemplating  the  sale  of  the  mis- 
sion properties  and  the  abandoning  of  the  field. 

In  order  to  awaken  the  church  as  a  whole,  and  the 


212    HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

members  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  in  particu- 
lar, to  the  conviction  that  this  mission  was  worthy  of 
being  received,  and  that  it  was  highly  desirable  that  the 
Board  take  charge  of  it,  the  Rev.  Ira  H.  LaFetra,  the 
superintendent,  prepared  and  published  a  comparison  in 
a  pamphlet  entitled,  "Shall  the  Chile  Mission  be  Sacri- 
ficed?" The  comparison  shows  that  the  results  in  this 
mission  were  quite  satisfactory,  as  good  at  least  as  in 
other  mission  fields.  Doubtless  this  showing  made  by 
LaFetra  contributed  to  the  change  on  the  part  of  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  toward  the  Chile  Mission. 
With  a  better  knowledge  of  the  mission  the  members  of 
the  Board  agreed  to  take  it. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
THE  TRANSFER 

IN  view  of  the  questions  involved  in  missionary  admin- 
istration and  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  it  seems  advis- 
able that  some  account  be  given  of  the  transfer  of  the 
Chile  Mission  from  the  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Soci- 
ety to  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 

Three  actions  in  regard  to  the  relations  between  the 
William  Taylor  Self-Supporting  Missions  and  workers 
therein  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  the  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions  had  taken  place  which  had  a  bearing 
on  the  transfer. 

First.  The  Bishops  had  ruled  that  all  ministers  and 
lay  members  laboring  in  a  foreign  field  outside  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  were  outside 
the  pale  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Second.  The  General  Conference,  by  authorizing  the 
formation  of  such  ministers  and  laymen  into  District  Con- 
ferences and  the  attachment  of  such  Conferences  to  some 
Annual  Conference  in  the  United  States,  provided  for  the 
reestablishment  as  members  of  the  Methodist  Church  of 
those  who  had  been  cut  off  by  the  ruling  of  the  Bishops. 

Third.  The  General  Conference  of  1888  adopted  the 
following  Preamble  and  Resolutions: 

Whereas,  The  plan  of  self-supporting  mission  work  which  has 
been  inaugurated  in  South  America  and  Africa  by  Bishop  Tay- 
lor has  elicited  much  enthusiasm  in  the  church,  and  deserves  an 
opportunity  for  full  development  under  the  fostering  care  of 
the  whole  church ;  and, 


2i4   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

Whereas,  It  is  not  desirable  to  bring  this  experiment  into  com- 
petition with  the  established  methods  of  missionary  administra- 
tion which  have  long  existed  in  the  church,  and  inasmuch  as 
there  is  no  reason  for  antagonism  between  the  two  methods,  if 
both  are  conducted  under  the  same  authorities ;  and 

Whereas,  The  Missionary  Board  and  the  General  Missionary 
Committee  are  the  only  agencies  through  which  the  General 
Conference  administers  its  missions ;  and 

Whereas,  The  agencies  are  sufficiently  broad  and  flexible  in 
their  scope  and  purpose  to  embrace  all  departments  and  methods 
of  missionary  work;  and 

Whereas,  the  principle  of  self-support  has  long  been  recognized 
and  cultivated  in  the  regular  missions  of  the  church,  therefore 

Resolved,   i.    [Refers   to   Africa  only.] 

2.  That  we  direct  that  all  property  acquired  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  the  self-supporting  mission  plan  be  held  by  and  for  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

3.  That  the  Missionary  Board  appoint  a  Standing  Committee 
on  Self-Supporting  Missions,  who  shall  have  the  oversight  of 
the  missions  on  the  self-supporting  plan. 


Thus  the  General  Conference  sanctioned  the  self-sup- 
porting plan  as  a  legitimate  method  of  work  under  the 
direction  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  appointed 
a  special  committee  for  the  oversight  of  such  mission. 

The  second  article  of  the  Preamble  indicates  that  the 
General  Conference  thought  there  might  be  "reason  for 
antagonism  between  the  two  methods,"  which  would  be 
avoided  if  both  methods  were  conducted  under  the  same 
authorities. 

By  the  action  of  the  General  Conference  Bishop  Wil- 
liam Taylor  and  his  work  in  Africa  were  placed  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  while 
the  missions  on  the  west  coast  of  South  America,  better 
the  Chile  Mission,  came  but  little  under  the  Board,  the 
Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society  furnishing  the  funds 
for  its  support  and  retaining  the  direction  in  the  main. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         215 

ANOTHER  STEP  TOWARD  TRANSFER 

Acting  under  an  enabling  act  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence, Bishop  Newman,  in  1893,  organized  all  South 
America  into  an  Annual  Conference.  That  put  the  self- 
supporting  work  in  Chile  into  connection  with  that  which 
was  not  self-supporting.  The  directors  of  the  Transit 
and  Building  Fund  Society  considered  that  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  bishop  and  the  Annual  Conference,  which 
included  the  Chile  Mission,  in  the  nature  of  the  case 
brought  the  self-supporting  work,  in  a  measure  at  least, 
under  the  direction  of  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  as  well 
as  that  of  the  bishop  and  the  Annual  Conference.  The 
bishop  and  the  Annual  Conference  would  have  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  men  so  the  old  Society  would  not  have 
the  control  of  the  men  of  its  mission. 

It  became  clearly  apparent  to  the  officers  and  members 
of  the  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society  that  both  kinds 
of  missionary  work  could  not  be  carried  on  successfully 
in  the  same  territory  under  different  authorities ;  that 
something  must  be  done  by  them;  and  that  there  were 
but  three  courses  of  action  left  for  them  in  the  premises 
whereby  they  would  be  able  to  fulfill  the  trust  duties  rest- 
ing upon  them,  namely:  (i)  Comply  with  the  spirit  and 
intent  of  the  resolutions  of  the  General  Conference  of 
1888,  and  transfer  the  property  in  Chile  to  the  Missionary 
Board,  whereby  the  mission  work  in  Chile  could  be  car- 
ried on  and  conducted  on  the  plan  of  self-support  under 
the  charge  and  control  of  the  Mission  Board  and  the  Gen- 
eral Missionary  Committee,  as  agents  of  the  General 
Conference;  or  (2)  Carry  on  the  work  in  Chile  as  a  sep- 
arate and  independent  work,  not  under  the  control  or 
supervision  of  the  Missionary  Board,  and  not  subject  in 
any  way  to  the  General  Conference  of  the  Church;  or  (3) 


216   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

Sell  and  dispose  of  the  property  of  the  Society  in  Chile, 
repay  the  contributors,  and  withdraw  entirely  from  said 
field. 

In  this  situation  the  following  communication  was  ad- 
dressed to  the  Board  of  Bishops  by  Anderson  Fowler  and 
Richard  Grant,  representing  the  Transit  and  Building 
Fund  Society. 

DOCUMENT  No.  i 

To  the  Board  of  Bishops  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church: 

We,  the  undersigned,  Committee  of  the  Transit  and  Building 
Fund  Society  (incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New 
York),  offer  to  you,  as  representing  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  to  transfer  all  the  mission  work  and  mission  property 
belonging  to  the  above  Society  in  Chile,  upon  the  condition  that 
Chile  be  set  apart  exclusively  for  self-supporting  mission  work, 
and  that  mission  work  in  Chile  be  carried  on  and  conducted  on 
the  plan  of  self-support  as  heretofore,  and  upon  which  the  Tran- 
sit and  Building  Fund  Society  is  incorporated. 

(Signed)    ANDERSON  FOWLER, 
RICHARD  GRANT. 

P.  S. — It  is  estimated  by  the  Rev.  Ira  H.  LaFetra,  superintend- 
ent of  the  work  in  Chile,  that  at  least  $20,000  in  gold  will  be 
required  annually  to  make  the  work  a  great  success. 

That  communication  was  presented  by  Bishop  Fowler 
to  the  General  Missionary  Committee  at  its  meeting  held 
at  Minneapolis  November  13,  1893;  which  body  adopted 
the  following  preamble  and  resolutions : 

DOCUMENT  No.  2 

It  is  known  to  this  Committee  that  there  has  existed  for  some 
years  a  corporation  known  as  the  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Soci- 
ety of  Self-Supporting  Missions.  The  nature  and  work  of  this  soci- 
ety is  defined  in  the  following  statement,  taken  from  its  charter, 
namely:  "The  particular  business  and  objects  of  said  Society  are 
to  provide  ways  and  means  and  to  manage,  appropriate,  and  apply 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         217 

the  same  as  follows,  namely:  I.  To  provide  a  suitable  outfit  for 
missionary  preachers  and  teachers ;  2.  To  pay  their  passage  to 
foreign  countries ;  3.  To  pay  the  traveling  expenses  of  pioneer 
evangelists  in  those  countries ;  4.  To  build  or  purchase  dwelling 
houses,  schoolhouses,  and  houses  of  worship  for  the  use  of  the 
missionaries ;  5.  Also  to  translate  the  sacred  Scriptures  and  suit- 
able literary  and  religious  publications  into  foreign  languages  and 
to  print  and  publish  the  same;  6.  The  funds  of  this  Society  shall 
not  be  used  to  pay  the  salaries  of  agents  at  home  nor  of  preach- 
ers or  teachers  in  foreign  countries." 

Under  these  provisions  of  the  charter  educational  and  evan- 
gelistic work  has  been  carried  forward  in  Chile,  and  a  property 
amounting  to  $200,000  in  gold  has  been  accumulated.  At  present 
forty-eight  ministers  and  teachers  from  the  United  States  are 
at  work  in  this  field. 

This  society,  represented  by  Messrs.  Anderson  Fowler  and 
Richard  Grant,  now  presents  the  following  proposition,  namely : 
"We  offer  to  transfer  all  the  mission  work  and  mission  property 
belonging  to  the  above-named  society  in  Chile  to  the  Missionary 
Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  free  of  debt,  upon 
these  conditions :  That  Chile  be  set  apart  exclusively  for  self- 
supporting  mission  work,  and  that  the  mission  work  in  Chile  be 
carried  on  and  conducted  on  the  plan  of  self-support  as  here- 
tofore." 

Now,  therefore,  the  General  Missionary  Committee,  so  far  as 
it  has  authority,  and  subject  to  the  authority  of  the  General  Con- 
ference, accepts  for  itself  the  above  proposition,  and  recommends 
the  Missionary  Board  to  accept  in  like  manner  the  proposition, 
and  to  enter  upon  and  prosecute  this  work  on  the  conditions  here- 
inbefore set  forth. 

We  also  appropriate  $25,000  contingent  upon  its  being  given 
specifically  for  this  work,  said  money  to  be  administered  by  the 
Board. 

In  response  to  that  action  the  Board  of  Managers,  No- 
vember 28,  1893,  referred  the  question  of  the  transference 
of  the  property  of  the  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Soci- 
ety to  the  Missionary  Society  to  the  Committees  on  Self- 
Supporting  Missions  and  Finance,  as  a  joint  committee, 
to  consider  and  report. 


218   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

That  joint  committee  made  its  report  at  a  meeting  of 
the  Board  of  Managers,  held  December  19,  1893,  which 
was  as  follows : 

The  action  of  the  late  General  Committee  on  the  offer  of 
Messrs.  Anderson  Fowler  and  Richard  Grant,  representing  the 
Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society  of  Self-Supporting  Missions 
with  reference  to  work  in  Chile,  was  laid  before  this  Joint  Com- 
mittee. The  subject  was  seriously  considered  and  debated,  and 
your  Committee  beg  leave  to  report  as  follows : 

Whereas,  The  following  paper  was  addressed  to  the  Board  of 
Bishops  by  Anderson  Fowler  and  Richard  Grant,  representing  the 
Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society  of  Self-Supporting  Missions, 
namely :  [Here  follows  Document  No.  i,  as  above] ;  and 

Whereas,  The  following  paper  was  presented  by  Bishop  Fow- 
ler to  the  General  Missionary  Committee  and  adopted  by  said 
Committee,  namely:  [Here  follows  Document  No.  2,  as  above]. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  and  the  action  of  the  General  Mission- 
ary Committee,  your  committee  recommend  to  the  Board  of 
Managers  of  the  Missionary  Society  to  adopt  the  propositions 
herein  contained,  and  recommend  the  Board  to  instruct  its  legal 
counsel  to  prepare  the  necessary  documents  for  transfer  of  the 
property  to  the  Missionary  Society. 

On  motion,  the  report  was  adopted  by  a  rising  vote. 

The  Board  of  Managers  then  asked  their  lawyer,  Mr. 
E.  L.  Fancher,  to  arrange  for  the  transfer  of  the  titles. 
He  found  that  the  titles  could  not  be  passed  directly  to 
the  Missionary  Society  because  no  law  had  been  enacted 
in  Chile  by  which  a  society  of  the  nature  of  the  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions  was  known  or  had  any  legal  stand- 
ing. To  get  around  the  difficulty  he  moved  at  the  meeting 
held  January  16,  1894,  that  the  action  taken  at  the  last 
meeting  of  the  Board  be  reconsidered,  and  he  offered  a 
substitute.  The  substitute,  after  full  discussion,  was 
referred  to  the  special  Committee  on  Finance  and  Self- 
Supporting  Missions.  That  Committee  reported  to  the 
Board  at  a  meeting  held  February  20,  1894.  After  stat- 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         219 

ing  the  proposition  of  Fowler  and  Grant  to  pass  the  Chile 
Mission  with  its  properties  over  to  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions,  and  stating  also  the  action  of  the  General  Mis- 
sionary Committee  and  that  of  the  Board  of  Managers, 
it  presented  the  following : 

1.  In  view  of  the  difficulties  transfer  of  title  to  the  Society: 

2.  It  is  proposed  that  the  present  beneficiaries   authorize  the 
trustees  now  holding  the  legal  title  to  transfer  the  beneficial  use 
to  the  Missionary  Society ;  also  that  Richard  Grant  and  Ander- 
son Fowler  become  the  trustees  to  hold  the  title  for  the  Mission- 
ary Society,  they  to  deliver  to  its  treasurer  a  declaration  of  such 
trust  and  their  agreement  to  execute  at  any  time  such  power  of 
attorney  or  other  papers  as  will  authorize  the  transfer  of  tide  to 
the  property,  or  any  part  thereof,  on  the  request  of  the  Board 
of  Managers. 

3.  It  is  understood  that  such  property  is  to  be  freed  from  all 
mortgage  or  other  debts  by  said  holders  of  title. 

4.  And  that  the  general  treasury  of  the  Missionary  Society  is 
not  to  be  charged  with  any  payment  for  or  on  account  of  said 
missions. 

Bishop  Andrews  moved  to  substitute  for  Item  4  the  following, 
which  was  adopted : 

Whenever  $25,000  contingent  appropriation  made  by  the  Gen- 
eral Missionary  Committee,  or  any  part  thereof,  or  any  other 
or  further  sums,  shall  be  contributed  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
missions  in  Chile,  the  same  shall  be  set  apart  and  used  exclu- 
sively for  such  purpose,  and  the  Board  of  Managers  will  assume 
the  oversight  of  such  missions  and  continue  them  as  self-support- 
ing missions,  so  far  as  the  Board  has  authority,  and  so  far  as 
contributions  shall  be  made  expressly  therefor,  and  subject  to 
any  further  action  of  the  General  Conference. 

The  report  was  then  adopted  as  a  whole. 

Acting  under  this  authorization,  the  Committee  on 
Self-Supporting  Missions  recommended  to  the  General 
Missionary  Committee,  which  met  at  Brooklyn  Novem- 
ber 14,  1894,  that  there  be  appropriated  for  work  in 
Chile  as  follows : 


220   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

For  transit  of  eight  teachers $2400 

For  rents 1,725 

For  traveling  220 

For  insurance   455 

For  furnishing  girls'  school  at  Concepcion 500 

For  debts  two  months  of  1893  and  for  1894 2,566 


Total $7,866 

The  right  of  the  Board  to  give  even  this  small  amount 
to  aid  the  work  in  Chile  was  called  in  question,  and  the 
following  was  presented  to  the  Board  at  the  meeting  held 
November  20,  1894: 

Your  Committee  recommend  that  the  Board  determine  whether 
it  has  the  power  to  make  any  appropriation  to  this  mission, 
except  from  money  especially  contributed.  In  case  the  Board 
decides  that  it  has  power,  your  Committee  agrees  that  the  appro- 
priations passed  by  this  Committee  at  its  last  session  be  author- 
ized by  the  Board. 

Then,  on  motion  of  J.  F.  Goucher,  it  was  ordered  that 
$7,866  be  appropriated  for  the  items  recommended,  and 
charged  to  the  Incidental  Fund. 

The  following  year,  at  the  meeting  held  in  November, 
a  motion  was  made  that  the  General  Committee  appropri- 
ate $7,426.  The  motion  was  laid  on  the  table.  How- 
ever, at  a  meeting  of  the  Board  held  March  17,  1896,  it 
was  recommended  that  the  $7,426  asked  from  the  Gen- 
eral Committee  be  paid  from  the  Incidental  Fund. 

For  a  period  of  almost  two  years  there  followed  a  long 
and  intricate  discussion  and  investigation  of  the  question 
whether  a  clear  title  to  the  properties  held  in  South  Amer- 
ica by  the  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society  could  be 
given  to  the  Missionary  Society. 

The  condition  in  which  the  mission  remained  was  anom- 
alous. The  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society  through 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         221 

their  trustees,  Fowler  and  Grant,  were  the  owners  of  all 
the  property  which  was  being  used  by  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  for  its  mission  established  in  Chile  by 
the  General  Committee  at  its  session  at  Detroit,  Michi- 
gan, in  November,  1896.  The  Board  of  Managers  had 
not  purchased  it,  nor  rented  it,  and  yet  the  Missionary 
Society  was  not  using  it  according  to  the  principles  of  the 
Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society.  The  negotiations 
had  been  pending  between  the  two  societies  for  four  years. 
The  situation  was  such  that  the  Transit  and  Building 
Fund  Society  had  given  nothing  for  the  support  of  the 
mission,  and  would  give  nothing.  The  Missionary  Soci- 
ety for  fifteen  months  gave  nothing,  and  after  that  time 
gave  a  very  limited  amount.  They  failed  to  send  out 
teachers,  and  two  schools  were  closed,  one  of  which  had 
a  good  property. 

Those  were  days  of  great  anxiety  to  those  who  under- 
stood the  situation  and  bore  the  burden  of  responsibility 
in  the  mission.  Fortunately,  Ira  H.  LaFetra  and  Mrs. 
LaFetra  each  had  private  resources,  received  by  inheri- 
tance, which  were  used  in  this  crisis  to  prevent  the  dis- 
missing of  the  workers  in  the  mission.  The  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  G.  F.  Arms  had  funds  also,  though  much  less  than 
the  LaFetras,  and  all  was  put  into  the  sustaining  of  the 
work.  Other  missionaries  loaned  some  as  they  were 
able.  Altogether,  sufficient  funds  were  thus  borrowed  to 
sustain  the  mission  until  the  Missionary  Society  decided 
that  it  was  able  to  hold  the  property. 

The  Board,  the  General  Missionary  Committee,  and  the 
Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society  in  November,  1897, 
agreed  that  the  mission  property  and  missions  in  Chile 
should  belong  to  and  be  controlled  by  the  Missionary 
Society,  and  that  the  missions  should  be  conducted  as 
self-supporting  missions,  the  Missionary  Society  prom- 


222   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

ising  that  it  would  not  depart  from  the  principle  of  self- 
support  in  Chile  except  in  case  of  extreme  necessity. 

The  Board  of  Managers  faithfully  complied  with  the 
agreement  till  the  increasing  expenses  of  the  ever-grow- 
ing evangelistic  work  made  it  impossible.  While  the 
expenses  had  greatly  increased  the  income  had  lessened. 

The  Publishing  House  under  the  management  of 
LaFetra  and  his  trained  assistant,  Charles  James,  had 
been  able  to  pay  into  the  treasury  of  the  mission  from 
3,000  to  10,000  pesos  a  year  for  several  years  for  the 
support  of  the  preachers  in  the  evangelistic  work.  Be- 
cause of  the  ill  health  of  LaFetra  the  Publishing  House 
was  placed  in  the  charge  of  others  whose  experience  was 
limited.  Conditions  had  changed  also.  The  press  became 
unable  to  meet  its  own  expenses.  The  government  had 
established  liceos  in  many  cities  which  offered  free  in- 
struction, and  in  some  cities  by  the  aid  of  a  subvention 
from  the  government  gave  board  at  half  the  cost.  These 
liceos  drew  heavily  from  the  liberals,  from  which  class 
our  schools  had  received  full  half  of  their  pupils-  Thus 
the  income  of  our  schools  was  lessened,  in  some  cases  to 
that  extent  they  could  not  meet  expenses,  much  less 
contribute  to  the  support  of  the  churches  as  they  had 
done.  Meanwhile  the  evangelistic  work  continued  to 
grow  admirably. 

In  a  few  years  the  number  of  preachers  appointed  by 
the  bishop  to  the  charges  more  than  doubled.  The  funds 
raised  on  the  field,  so  much  less  than  before  for  the  rea- 
sons above  given,  were  utterly  inadequate  for  the  support 
of  the  churches.  Debts  accumulated.  The  situation  be- 
came desperate. 

To  save  the  mission  from  disaster  and  to  enable  it  to 
go  on  with  its  work  the  General  Missionary  Committee, 
at  its  meeting  in  November,  1903,  after  full  consideration 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         223 

by  a  special  committee,  at  the  sessions  of  which  there 
were  present  Anderson  Fowler  as  the  representative  of 
the  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society,  and  the  Rev. 
Goodsil  F.  Arms  as  the  representative  of  the  Chile  Mis- 
sion (Mr.  Arms  had  been  on  the  field  fifteen  years  and 
knew  all  the  financial  condition  of  the  work  in  the  schools, 
in  the  Publishing  House,  and  in  the  churches),  agreed 
that  the  schools  and  the  Publishing  House  should  be  con- 
tinued on  the  self-supporting  plan  as  heretofore,  but  that 
the  evangelistic  work  should  be  administered  and  sup- 
ported on  the  same  plan  as  in  other  mission  fields  of 
the  Board. 

THE  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY  TAKES  OVER  THE  PROPERTY 

After  the  November  meeting,  1897,  when  the  Chile 
Mission  was  definitely  taken  over,  the  Missionary  Soci- 
ety had  its  treasurer,  the  Rev.  Homer  Eaton,  appointed 
to  hold  the  properties  of  the  Chile  Mission  in  trust  for 
the  Society.  The  Rev.  Goodsil  F.  Arms  was  given  power 
of  attorney  to  act  as  his  representative  and  that  of  the 
Missionary  Society  on  the  field,  to  hold  all  the  properties 
of  the  mission,  to  purchase,  sell,  rent,  or  transact  any 
business  which  the  interests  of  the  mission  might  require. 
For  all  the  previous  years  Ira  LaFetra  had  held  that 
position  for  the  previous  Society. 

Directly  the  mission  properties  which  were  being  held 
in  the  name  of  Anderson  Fowler  and  of  Richard  Grant 
were  legally  transferred  to  Homer  Eaton.  The  transac- 
tions had  to  take  place  as  a  regular  sale. 

The  more  recent  purchases  of  properties  for  schools 
and  for  churches  had  been  held  either  in  the  name  of  Ira 
H.  LaFetra,  Goodsil  F.  Arms,  or  Willis  C.  Hoover.  All 
those  were  transferred  to  the  name  of  Homer  Eaton. 
Properties  worth  at  least  $300,000  were  thus  held  in  the 


224   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

name  of  Homer  Eaton  for  the  Missionary  Society.  But 
the  method  of  holding  the  property  was  abnormal.  The 
laws  of  Chile  do  not  know  of  such  a  thing  as  a  trustee 
for  a  society  of  the  nature  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions. If  the  heirs  of  the  trustee  were  in  Chile  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  they  could  claim  the  property  as  the 
personal  property  of  their  father.  More  than  that,  the 
system  was  cumbersome.  It  was  unsatisfactory. 

After  a  lengthy  correspondence  and  full  discussion 
the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  at  a  meeting  held  in  De- 
cember, 1905,  gave  authority  for  the  incorporation  of  a 
society  in  Chile  which  would  be  the  representative  of  the 
Board  by  honor  bound,  not  legally,  to  hold  legally  all 
the  properties  of  the  Chile  Mission.  The  Rev.  Ira  H. 
LaFetra  had  drafted  the  articles  of  incorporation,  which 
after  a  few  changes  by  the  Board  were  accepted.  The 
Board  named  I.  H.  LaFetra,  G.  F.  Arms,  W.  C.  Hoover, 
F.  M.  Harrington,  A.  S.  Watson,  B.  O.  Campbell,  and 
E.  F.  Herman,  the  last  a  layman,  a  missionary  teacher; 
and  they  were  accepted  by  the  Chilean  government  as  the 
constituent  members  of  the  incorporation.  The  Board 
ordered  that  all  the  properties  of  the  mission  in  Chile  be 
transferred  to  the  incorporated  body  which  had  taken 
the  name  of  "La  Corporation  Andina  de  Construcciones." 
Power  was  given  to  G.  F.  Arms  as  the  representative  of 
Homer  Eaton  to  transfer  to  the  corporation  the  proper- 
ties which  were  held  in  trust  in  the  name  of  Dr.  Eaton. 

The  Board  requested  the  missionaries  forming  the 
corporation,  and  any  who  afterward  might  become  mem- 
bers, to  agree  to  the  following  restrictions,  and  notify 
the  Board  of  their  acceptance  of  the  same : 

i.  That  the  membership  in  the  corporation  be  restricted  to 
missionaries  duly  appointed  and  sent  out  by  the  Board  of  For- 
eign Missions. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         225 

2.  That  no  property  shall  be  purchased  or  sold  by  the  corpor- 
ation without  the  previous  consent  of  the  Board  of  Managers. 

3.  That  the  corporation  shall  hold  its  property  for  the  use  of 
persons  appointed  to  serve  therein,  whether  by  the  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  or  the  bishop  in  charge. 

4.  That  said  corporation   shall  at  any   future  time,  upon  the 
request  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Missionary   Society, 
transfer  the  properties  held  by  it  to  such  person  or  persons  as 
may  be  designated  by  said  Board  of  Managers  to  receive  and 
hold  it,  or  to  transfer  it  to  the  Missionary  Society  itself  if  the 
law   should  be  changed   so  as  to  permit   said   Society  to  hold 
property  in  Chile. 

Under  the  authority  given,  the  necessary  steps  were 
taken  and  the  Chilean  government  duly  authorized  the 
corporation,  the  members  being  the  persons  above  named. 
The  members  met  and  organized,  electing,  I.  H.  LaFetra, 
president;  W.  C.  Hoover,  secretary;  and  G.  F.  Arms, 
treasurer. 


226   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 


CHAPTER  XIV 
SELF-SUPPORT— THE  PLAN 

WHAT  does  twenty-five  years  of  experience  in  self- 
support  missions  teach  concerning  the  advantages  and 
disadvantages  of  the  system? 

The  answer  must  depend  largely  upon  what  is  under- 
stood by  "self-supporting  missions."  The  plan  as  orig- 
inated by  William  Taylor  for  the  west  coast  of  South 
America  was  not  a  fixed  one,  but  subject  to  modification 
as  circumstances  required.  Doubtless,  in  the  minds  of 
the  people  in  general  a  self-supporting  mission  in  a  for- 
eign field  is  one  which  receives  no  aid  from  outside 
sources.  Is  it  possible  in  a  foreign  mission  among  hea- 
thens to  have  such  a  thing  as  absolute  self-support  ?  The 
heathen  do  not  call  men  and  pay  them  to  go  out  at  their 
call.  The  payment  of  the  passage  out  is  aid  to  that  mis- 
sion. But  even  in  the  case  of  a  missionary  well  prepared 
and  possessed  of  special  gifts  for  winning  his  support 
when  once  on  the  field  by  laboring  a  part  of  his  time  in 
some  lucrative  employment  till  he  so  wins  the  favor  of 
the  heathen  that  they  support  him,  the  self-support  is 
not  absolute  because  the  trained  ability  of  the  man  repre- 
sents capital ;  and  that  is  a  gift  from  the  home  field,  which 
gift  is  the  biggest  asset  in  the  work  of  the  foreign  mis- 
sion. It  must  be  understood  then  that  the  self-support 
is  not  absolute. 

In  founding  the  missions  on  the  west  coast  of  South 
America  William  Taylor  started  with  the  plan  of  fur- 
nishing the  missionaries  only.  All  expenses  for  their  sup- 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          227 

port  and  the  work  which  they  were  to  do  were  to  be  met 
by  those  whom  they  were  to  serve.  With  the  exception 
of  the  very  few  English-speaking  Protestant  communities 
that  wanted  a  minister  and  were  willing  to  meet  all  ex- 
penses connected  with  the  maintaining  of  a  church,  Tay- 
lor's missionaries  had  to  earn  their  support  by  such 
means  as  persons  not  missionaries  might  earn  it.  Taylor 
soon  found  that  the  money  pledged  to  pay  the  outgoing 
of  the  missionaries  whom  he  was  to  secure  was  not  forth- 
coming from  most  of  the  mission  stations.  The  establish- 
ment of  these  stations  would  fail  unless  the  men  were 
sent  out.  William  Taylor  then  modified  his  plan,  and  the 
passage  money  for  the  outgoing  workers  was  secured  in 
the  home  field. 

The  education  of  the  young  is  a  legitimate  and  essen- 
tial part  of  missionary  work.  Taylor's  missionaries 
could  establish  schools  and  through  them  do  missionary 
work  and  at  the  same  time  secure  support,  the  children 
being  drawn  chiefly  from  the  well-to-do  class.  The 
missionary  work  would  reach  beyond  the  pupils  to  the 
parents  and  to  some  extent  touch  the  community.  But 
this  school  missionary  self-supporting  work  was  diffi- 
cult. Rents  for  school  buildings  were  high.  The  build- 
ings were  very  inadequate,  the  school  equipment  meager, 
the  prejudice  against  the  teachers  as  Protestants  was 
strong,  and  in  some  cases  the  teachers  themselves  had 
not  the  ability  and  preparation  required.  Some  of  them 
could  not  make  their  schools  succeed  so  as  to  win  support, 
and  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  continue  without  aid 
from  outside  sources. 

After  several  of  the  mission  stations  started  by  William 
Taylor  had  been  abandoned  because  the  missionaries  la- 
boring there  could  not  win  support,  the  Transit  and 
Building  Fund  Society,  which  had  taken  charge  in  place 


228   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

of  William  Taylor,  agreed  that  the  plan  of  self-support 
as  started  by  him  should  be  so  modified  that,  in  so  far 
as  there  were  funds  with  which  to  do  it,  aid  might  be 
given  to  the  self-supporting  missions  as  follows: 

1.  To  pay  the  transit  expenses  of  missionaries  and  something 
toward  the  outfit. 

2.  To  provide  buildings  for  churches,  parsonages,  and  schools, 
by  purchase,  construction,  or  by  paying  rents. 

3.  To  pay    for   the   repairs   and   improvements    on   properties 
owned,  and  the  insurance,   and   to   aid   in   furnishing  churches 
and  schools. 

4.  To  aid  in  meeting  the  traveling  expenses  of  the  preachers 
in  their  work. 

5.  The  Society  reaffirmed  that  in  no  case  was  aid  to  be  given 
in  meeting  the  salary  of  preacher  or  teacher,  missionary  or  native. 

The  above  can  be  taken  as  the  meaning  of  self-support 
under  the  administration  of  the  Transit  and  Building 
Fund  Society,  that  is,  in  relation  to  the  sources  from 
which  the  funds  were  secured  for  the  support  of  the 
work.  The  self-supporting  plan,  however,  involved  more 
than  the  question  of  limiting  to  the  mission  field  itself  the 
securing  of  the  funds  for  the  support  of  the  workers.  It 
involved  also  the  question  of  administration.  Naturally, 
and  almost  inevitably,  it  threw  the  responsibility  of  ad- 
ministration largely  upon  the  persons  through  whose 
labors  the  funds  were  earned  or  secured  for  the  support 
of  the  workers.  This  administration  was  effected  through 
the  Mission  Conference  composed  of  all  the  missionaries 
and  the  preachers  who  were  under  regular  appointment. 
The  money  given  by  the  Transit  and  Building  Fund  Soci- 
ety was  for  the  most  part  invested  in  property  according 
to  directions  from  the  Society  usually  made  according  to 
recommendations  from  the  field.  Thus  the  self-support- 
ing plan  involved  self-government  to  a  larger  degree  than 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          229 

that  in  mission  fields  under  the  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions. With  this  understanding  of  what  self-support  was 
in  the  Taylor  Self-Supporting  Missions  on  the  west 
coast,  the  question  of  the  advantages  and  disadvantages 
of  the  plan  can  be  considered. 

1.  There  is  little  doubt  but  that  in  the  minds  of  people 
in  general  the  principal  advantage,  if  not  the  only  one,  in 
a  self-supporting  mission  is  that  it  costs  less  to  run  it, 
or,  at  least,  the  demand  on  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
and  the  appeal  to  the  generous  donors  of  special  gifts  is 
much  less.    And  it  is  true  that  the  results  secured  were 
at  very  much  less  cost  from  the  home  field. 

However,  the  self-supporting  plan  has  other  advan- 
tages, and  possibly  the  financial  one  is  not  the  chief  in 
importance. 

2.  It  may  be  considered  an  advantage  that  by  the  self- 
supporting  plan  inefficient  and  unsuccessful  missionaries 
are   weeded  out.     The  person   who  lacks  ability,   who 
lacks  energy,  who  is  inclined  to  take  life  easy,  who  lacks 
love  for  the  people  among  whom  he  labors,  cannot  win 
the  favor  of  the  people  so  as  to  secure  self-support.   Such 
a  person  has  to  leave  the  field.     Supported  from  home, 
the  missionary  might  go  on   for  years  and  accomplish 
little. 

3.  An  important  advantage  of  the  self-supporting  plan 
is  that  by  it  missionary  work  comes  to  be  more  a  work  of 
the  people  of  the  country.     Too  often  missionary  work 
is  looked  upon  as  a  foreign  affair  by  the  people  among 
whom  the  missionary  goes  to  labor,  as  an  affair  in  which 
natives  are  called  in  as  employees  to  aid  the  foreigner  in 
his  work,  paid  for  by  the  foreigner  in  foreign  money,  and 
the  fruits  of  the  labors  are  counted  as  the  foreigners.   In 
self-support  the  missionary  enters,  rather,  as  the  helper 
of  the  native  in  the  saving  of  his  own  people,  and  the 


230   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

work  seems  not  so  much  as  a  foreign  affair  as  a  national 
one.  Thus  the  native  feels  more  the  responsibility  for 
the  extension  of  Christ's  kingdom  and  the  support  of 
the  laborers. 

Instead  of  seeing  the  missionary  supported  from  a 
foreign  land,  receiving  a  sure  salary  and,  to  him,  a  very 
good  one,  far  above  anything  a  native  could  expect,  he 
sees  him  laboring  hard  to  earn  his  bread  and  making  a 
great  sacrifice  in  order  to  aid  the  native  colaborer  in 
securing  his  bread  while  giving  to  his  own  people  the 
gospel  of  salvation;  and  that  sacrifice  develops  a  like 
spirit  of  sacrifice  in  the  native  converts.  The  gospel 
appears  as  the  one  pearl  of  great  price  for  which  all  else 
may  well  be  given.  He  wants  it  and  he  wants  others  to 
have  it. 

4.  Finally,  self-support  is  in  harmony  with  the  psychol- 
ogy of  man's  nature. 

It  appeals  to  a  man  to  do  what  he  can  for  himself. 
That  in  itself  is  ennobling.  A  man  who  knew  savage 
tribes  well  said  that  if  a  stranger  came  among  them  and 
threw  himself  upon  their  hospitality,  their  generosity  was 
stimulated  and  they  joyously  would  give  the  best  they 
had,  considering  it  an  honor  and  a  privilege  to  entertain ; 
but  that  when  a  stranger  came  among  them  paying  his 
way,  especially  if  he  did  it  with  what  to  them  was  a 
generous  hand,  their  cupidity  was  aroused,  and  they 
would  be  ready  to  steal  and  rob  one  of  all  he  had,  very 
possibly  putting  his  life  in  danger. 

Human  nature  is  such  that  the  missionary  finds  that 
the  more  he  can  get  the  people  to  do  for  themselves  the 
better  his  work  among  them  succeeds,  while  the  less  they 
do  for  themselves  and  in  trying  to  reach  others,  expecting 
others  to  do  the  work  and  carry  the  financial  burden,  the 
less  the  work  prospers. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          231 

DISADVANTAGES    OF    THE    SELF-SUPPORTING    PLAN 

While  the  self-supporting  plan  is  less  expensive  in 
money,  it  is  much  more  expensive  in  men.  From  July, 
1878,  to  July,  1889 — eleven  years — there  were  sent  out  to 
the  William  Taylor  Self-Supporting  Missions  on  the 
west  coast  of  South  America  26  preachers,  18  of  whom 
were  married;  9  male  teachers,  three  of  whom  were  mar- 
ried; and  46  female  teachers — in  all  102  persons.  Of 
that  number  27  only  remained  at  the  end  of  eleven  years. 
Of  the  27  remaining  6  only  were  preachers,  and  but  2  of 
those  were  in  the  pastorate,  and  that  of  English-speaking 
congregations.  There  was  not  one  preacher  engaged  in 
evangelistic  work  among  the  natives. 

The  waste  of  men  was  great.  Some  of  the  missionaries 
had  barely  come  to  know  a  few  people  among  whom  they 
had  come  to  labor  when  they  returned  home.  They  were 
not  able  to  meet  the  difficult  conditions.  Others,  after  a 
hard  struggle  of  one  year,  two  years,  three  years,  left  the 
field  with  the  conviction  that  little  had  been  accomplished. 
Three  men  and  three  women  had  fallen  on  the  field  during 
those  eleven  years.  Others  went  home  broken  down  in 
health.  Some  of  them  were  good  missionaries  who,  with 
some  help  from  the  home  field,  easing  the  burden,  might 
have  continued  as  successful  workers. 

Further,  it  is  a  waste  of  men,  and  a  great  waste, 
when  a  person  who  can  preach,  teach  well,  and  use  the 
printed  page  to  great  advantage,  uses  a  part  of  his  val- 
uable time  in  secular  work  in  order  to  secure  his  bread. 
The  person  who  has  the  preparation,  the  language,  and 
the  gifts  of  a  successful  missionary  ought  to  use  his  time 
— his  whole  time — to  the  best  possible  advantage  in  sow- 
ing the  good  seed  of  eternal  life,  devoting  his  powers  espe- 
cially to  preparing  others  for  the  work. 


232    HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

The  self-supporting  plan  necessarily  turns  a  mission 
to  a  considerable  extent  into  a  business  enterprise,  which, 
if  successful,  must  be  managed  on  business  principles. 
The  leaders  must  be  shrewd  and  practical  business  men 
who  give  their  time  and  thought  largely  to  the  financial 
interests  of  the  mission.  They  must  also  be  hard  workers, 
able  to  do  work  well  and  rapidly,  and  to  work  long  hours ; 
otherwise  they  would  be  unable  to  win  their  own  support 
and  that  of  such  others  as  are  required  in  the  building  of 
a  successful  mission.  They  must  live  on  a  moderate  sal- 
ary in  order  to  have  left  over  the  funds  needed  for  the 
support  of  the  other  helpers  required  and  that  the  helpers 
may  be  willing  also  to  live  with  economy. 

The  above  was  verified  in  Ira  H.  LaFetra.  He  was 
treasurer  of  the  mission,  keeping  the  books  and  doing 
the  correspondence.  He  was  president  of  Santiago  Col- 
lege and  had  the  business  management  and  bookkeeping. 
He  was  the  manager  and  bookkeeper  of  the  Mission  Pub- 
lishing House,  which  did  much  work  for  the  public,  and 
with  all  this  was  the  superintendent  of  the  Central  Dis- 
trict. Yet  with  so  much  he  had  no  accountant  to  aid 
him,  that  the  money  which  would  have  been  paid  to  an 
accountant  might  go  to  sustain  the  work. 

During  the  nine  years  that  G.  F.  Arms  was  treasurer 
of  the  mission  not  a  dollar  was  paid  by  the  mission  for 
an  accountant  to  aid  him,  yet  while  treasurer  he  was  bus- 
iness manager  and  bookkeeper  for  Concepcion  College 
and  taught  an  hour  and  a  half  a  day;  and  in  addition  he 
was  pastor  of  a  church  or  superintendent  of  the  Southern 
District.  Such  work  as  LaFetra  and  Arms  did  required 
working  into  the  wee  small  hours  of  the  night.  That  any 
man  was  able  to  do  so  many  things  so  well  was  a  marvel, 
and  was  due  in  no  small  measure  to  the  faithful  people 
associated  with  them. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          233 

Dr.  Thomas  B.  Wood,  veteran  missionary  with  expe- 
rience in  three  missions,  by  appointment  of  the  Board 
spent  six  months  in  the  Chile  Mission  after  it  came  under 
the  Board.  In  his  report  to  the  Board  he  spoke  in  the 
highest  terms  of  the  success  of  the  mission,  and  added 
that  in  his  opinion  the  future  of  the  mission  is  in  danger 
in  that  when  the  men  who  have  built  it  up  drop  out  it 
will  be  impossible  for  the  Board  to  secure  others  who 
can  successfully  carry  it  on  according  to  the  self-support- 
ing plan.  Surely,  all  who  are  familiar  with  conditions  in 
a  self-supporting  mission  will  agree  that  the  right  men 
to  successfully  carry  on  such  work  are  few,  and  that 
without  them  success  is  impossible. 

SOME   MINOR   DISADVANTAGES 

1.  The  self-supporting  plan  is  out  of  harmony  with 
the  methods  used  in  other  mission  fields.    The  appeals  for 
money  for  the  two  kinds  of  work,  in  the  nature  of  the 
case,  must  work  somewhat  against  each  other.     When 
asking  for  funds  for  the  self-supporting  work  to  aid  in 
such  things  as  the   self-supporting    plan    required,    the 
pleaders  were  inclined  to  present  that  plan  as  the  best, 
giving  a  much  larger  return  for  the  money  spent.     The 
same  tendency  was  present  when  seeking  for  funds  for 
the  Board,  their  method  being  the  best;  hence,  by  com- 
parison, the  other  method  was  discounted. 

2.  A  further  disadvantage  in  the  self-supporting  plan 
as  it  was  developed  in  Chile  was  that  it  tended  to  divide 
the    interest   and   lessen    the    energy   of    the   missionary 
teacher  and   create   dissatisfaction   on   the   part   of   the 
preacher.    The  teacher  could  earn  money,  but  often  was 
not  able  to  see  any  direct  results  for  his  labors  in  the 
evangelizing  of  the  people.     The  preacher  in  starting  a 


234   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

church  could  secure  very  little  support  from  the  congre- 
gation. Much  of  his  support  was  provided  by  the  money 
earned  by  the  teachers.  He  felt  a  certain  subjection  and 
dependence  upon  the  teachers,  and  some  were  dissatisfied 
to  have  it  so.  The  teacher  was  naturally  interested  in  his 
school  and  desirous  to  see  it  improve,  and  many  of  them 
felt  that  the  money  earned  in  the  schools  ought  to  go 
for  the  building  up  of  the  schools. 

3.  Another  disadvantage  of  the   self-supporting  plan 
became  manifest  to  the  preachers  in  the  evangelistic  work. 
According  to  the  William  Taylor  Self-Supporting  Mis- 
sions as  developed  by  the  Transit  and  Building  Fund  So- 
ciety, that  Society  was  able  to  pay  almost  any  of  the  ex- 
penses required  in  the  carrying  on  of  missionary  work 
except  the  paying  of  salaries.    Hence  there  was  the  ten- 
dency— and,  in  fact,  it  became  the  necessity — to  devote 
all  funds  raised  on  the  field  to  the  payment  of  the  sal- 
aries.    With  much  greater  freedom,  and  doubtless  with 
greater  success,  the  preacher  could  have  asked  for  money 
to  rent  a  chapel,  pay  for  lights,  travel  to  open  new  work, 
to  provide  benches  and  other  furnishings  for  chapels,  to 
buy  lots,  build  churches,  etc.,  better  than  to  ask  money 
to  pay  himself. 

4.  The  self-support  plan  is  a  slower  method.     This 
disadvantage  is  so  important  that  it  ought  to  be  classed 
as  a  major  rather  than  a  minor  disadvantage. 

A  dying  world  must  not  wait  long  for  the  word  of 
life.  It  is  out  of  reason  to  expect  to  develop  an  evange- 
listic work  among  hostile  pagan  or  Roman  Catholic 
people  with  funds  secured  from  among  them.  It  was 
plainly  shown  in  the  early  pages  of  this  history  that  Wil- 
liam Taylor  found  it  so  and  was  obliged  to  confine  his 
missionary  self-supporting  work  almost  entirely  to  Prot- 
estant foreigners.  And  it  is  self-evident  that  a  mission- 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          235 

ary  enterprise  which  is  limited  chiefly  to  a  certain  class  of 
foreigners  will  be  slow  in  reaching  the  people  of  a  nation. 

DISADVANTAGES  KNOWN  TO  FRIENDS  OF  SELF-SUPPORT 

It  cannot  be  believed  that  the  friends  and  supporters 
of  the  William  Taylor  Self-Supporting  Missions  during 
twenty-five  years  were  without  knowledge  of  the  disad- 
vantages of  the  plan,  yet  that  they  believed  in  the  plan 
and  conscientiously  supported  it  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
Knowing  the  disadvantages,  why,  then,  did  they  support 
it  so  generously  and  persistently,  and  insist  that  the  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions  in  taking  over  the  mission  continue 
the  same  plan  ?  The  answer  may  be  found  in  the  follow- 
ing reasons: 

1.  The  vastness  of  the  pagan  and  nonevangelical  fields 
and  the  utter  inadequacy  of  the  resources  of  the  mission- 
ary societies  to  provide  the  means  for  their  evangelization. 

2.  That  the  evangelization  of  every  land  must  be  done 
largely  by  men  and  means  raised  in  that  land,  and  there- 
fore the  great  aim  in  the  mission  fields  should  be  to 
develop  men  and  resources. 

3.  The  conviction  that  the  A'lissionary  Society  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church    (and  the  same  in  general 
concerning  the  other  missionary  societies)   was  training 
the  native  converts  to  depend  too  much  on  the  Mission- 
ary Society  and  to  do  too  little  for  themselves. 

4.  And  another  reason  may  be  given — the  belief  that 
the  self-supporting  plan  is  effective  in  weeding  out  ineffi- 
cient men  and  getting  them  off  the  field,  and  that  under 
the  Board  it  is  not  easy  to  eliminate  the  inefficient  man, 
so  long  as  his  moral  acts  are  correct. 

These  convictions  led  the  supporters  of  the  self-sup- 
porting missions  to  the  belief  that  though  in  the  begin- 
ning the  results  might  be  less  and  the  development  be 


236   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

slower,  later  the  native  converts  trained  in  these 
principles  would  carry  forward  much  more  rapidly  the 
evangelization  of  the  nation.  Convinced  that  the  mis- 
sionaries of  the  Board  were  not  laboring  to  develop  the 
indigenous  resources  as  they  might  and  ought  to  do, 
Anderson  Fowler,  Richard  Grant,  and  their  associates  in 
sustaining  the  William  Taylor  Self-Supporting  Missions 
had  the  supreme  desire  that  the  Chile  Mission,  successful 
on  the  self-supporting  plan,  might  be  an  object  lesson  to 
the  whole  Methodist  Church  and  lead  to  a  much  better 
development  of  the  indigenous  resources  in  the  different 
mission  fields. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          237 


CHAPTER  XV 

TRIBUTES 

I  CANNOT  close  this  record  of  the  first  twenty-five  years 
of  the  mission  founded  by  William  Taylor  without  giv- 
ing some  tribute  to  the  men  who  formed  the  Committee 
of  Administration  after  William  Taylor  was  elected 
Bishop  of  Africa.  It  was  due  to  that  Committee  that  the 
mission  was  not  closed  and  did  not  fail.  It  was  com- 
posed of  strong,  representative  men,  ready  to  sacrifice  for 
the  advancement  of  Christ's  kingdom. 

At  the  head  of  the  list  stands  Anderson  Fowler,  a  typi- 
cal business  man,  of  marked  intelligence  and  a  strong  per- 
sonality. He  was  the  great  giver  and  the  most  influential 
member  in  that  group  of  devoted  friends  and  supporters 
of  the  William  Taylor  Self-Supporting  Missions.  His 
devoted  wife,  a  constant  help  and  inspiration  to  him  in 
what  he  did  for  missions,  was  the  daughter  of  that  great 
and  good  man,  William  Arthur,  who  was  so  intimately 
connected  with  the  missionary  work  of  the  Wesleyan 
Methodist  Church  of  Great  Britain.  It  is  probable  that 
William  Arthur's  interest  in  missions  and  knowledge  of 
missionary  work  may  have  influenced  Anderson  Fowler 
in  his  generous  giving  and  his  desire  to  show  the  church 
that  the  indigenous  resources  are  not  being  developed  in 
the  mission  fields  as  they  might  be  done. 

Richard  Grant,  a  business  man,  but  not  of  great 
wealth,  was  a  generous  giver  and  a  faithful  cooperator 
with  Fowler  to  the  last. 

Dr.  Asbury  Lowrey  was  one  of  the  most  enthusiastic 
members  of  the  Committee  of  Administration.  Through 


238    HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

publications  in  his  magazine,  The  Divine  Life,  he  ren- 
dered very  efficient  aid. 

Chauncey  Shaffer,  A.  McLean,  Stephen  Merritt,  Judge 
Kelly,  and  others  freely  gave  their  cooperation.  These 
and  other  servants  of  Christ  were  able  to  rejoice  in  see- 
ing the  prosperity  of  the  work  in  which  they  were 
interested. 

It  would  be  very  gratifying  to  the  writer  to  give  some 
account  of  the  splendid  progress  of  the  Chile  Mission 
since  it  has  been  administered  by  the  Board  on  the  reg- 
ular plan,  but  the  object  of  this  history  is  to  cover  the 
twenty-five  years  which  embrace  the  founding  and  admin- 
istration of  the  mission  on  the  self-supporting  plan. 

THE  BUILDER  OF  THE  MISSION 

All  persons  who  are  conversant  with  the  important  part 
which  William  Taylor  took  in  the  founding  and  giving 
form  to  the  west  coast  self-supporting  missions,  and  of 
the  indispensable  participation  of  the  committee  in  admin- 
istration and  gifts,  will  surely  give  due  credit  for  all  that 
was  done  by  them.  But  there  was  one  other  indispensable 
factor  in  the  success  of  the  William  Taylor  Self-Support- 
ing Missions  on  the  west  coast  which  ought  not  to  be 
passed  by  without  a  tribute  of  praise.  That  indispen- 
sable factor  was  Ira  Haynes  LaFetra.  Dr.  Lowrey,  the 
secretary  of  the  Committee  of  Administration  of  the 
Transit  and  Building  Fund  Society,  called  him  "a  uni- 
versal genius."  He  had  a  magnificent  preparation.  He 
was  a  graduate  of  Ohio  Wesleyan  and  of  Boston  School 
of  Theology.  He  had  had  some  experience  in  journalism 
and  had  been  associated  with  men  of  Congress  as  sec- 
retary. He  arrived  on  the  mission  field  with  the  first 
party  sent  out  by  William  Taylor  and  knew  all  the  work 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          239 

of  the  mission  from  the  beginning.  Soon  his  fellow  mis- 
sionaries elected  him  as  their  superintendent.  His  zeal 
for  the  evangelizing  of  Chile  and  his  wisdom  in  planning 
the  work  and  in  administering  the  funds  through  the 
twenty-eight  years  of  his  missionary  labors  caused  him 
to  hold  the  place  of  leader.  His  associates  in  the  work, 
missionaries  and  natives,  seeing  his  wisdom,  admiring 
his  untiring  devotion  to  the  work  and  his  sweet  Christian 
spirit,  gladly  followed  his  leadership  and  dearly  loved 
him.  But  besides  being  the  leader  and  inspiration  to 
others  in  the  evangelistic  work,  he  was  the  founder,  and, 
with  Mrs.  LaFetra,  the  builder  of  Santiago  College,  con- 
sidered the  finest  school  for  young  ladies  in  all  South 
America.  Bishops  and  others  who  visited  the  school  de- 
clared that  it  would  rank  well  among  the  best  schools  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States. 
He  founded  and  managed  the  mission  printing  establish- 
ment, carrying  it  to  high  success.  Among  other  publica- 
tions he  printed  a  temperance  paper  and  sent  copies  to 
congressmen  and  leading  men  in  all  professions  in  Chile. 
He  was  the  pioneer  in  that  field.  The  mission,  embracing 
Chile,  Bolivia,  and  formerly  Peru,  covered  a  vast  terri- 
tory. Distances  between  stations  were  so  great  and  his 
time  was  so  completely  taken  in  the  enterprises  of  the 
mission  under  his  direction,  that  only  at  long  intervals 
was  he  able  to  visit  the  far-away  stations. 

Some  missionaries  are  not  good  administrators,  and 
some  fail  to  possess  the  qualities  which  win  with  the 
public.  Financial  difficulties  arose.  No  missionary  soci- 
ety stood  ready  to  give  relief.  To  save  the  mission  from 
disaster  and  to  continue  the  work  the  private  inherited 
funds  of  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  LaFetra  were  freely  used. 

Other  good  men  labored  also  and  their  work  helped ; 
still  had  Ira  H.  LaFetra  and  his  work  been  eliminated, 


24o   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

there  would  be  to-day  no  Chile  Mission,  just  an  attempt, 
a  record  of  a  few  years  of  struggle  and  failure.  Justly 
he  may  be  called  the  builder  of  the  Chile  Mission. 

This  work  was  not  accomplished  without  great  per- 
sonal sacrifice  to  the  builder.  He  was  a  rapid  and  cor- 
rect worker  and  labored  long  hours.  Often  it  was  said 
that  he  did  the  work  of  three  men.  Repeatedly  in  those 
earlier  years  William  Taylor  wrote  urging  him  to  work 
fewer  hours,  saying  that  no  man  could  continue  working 
sixteen  and  seventeen  hours  daily.  His  associate  mis- 
sionaries entreated  him  to  the  same  effect.  But  the  pres- 
sure of  sustaining  and  pushing  forward  the  work  of  a 
self-supporting  mission  was  so  great  that  he  saw  no  way 
to  do  less.  For  twenty-five  years  he  continued  under  the 
stress,  often  doing  much  hard  work  after  ten  o'clock  at 
night.  At  last  his  health  broke,  still  he  struggled  on  for 
three  years.  Then  he  had  to  give  up. 

He  lived  for  years  a  great  sufferer,  but  beautifully 
sweet  and  patient  in  it  all.  Vice-President  Fairbanks,  his 
college  roommate  and  lifelong  friend,  was  one  of  the 
speakers  at  his  funeral  service,  and  in  his  remarks  said: 
"We  were  students  together  in  Ohio  Wesleyan  Univer- 
sity. We  roomed  together  and  studied  together.  To- 
gether with  one  other,  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  L.  Beiler, 
chancellor  of  the  American  University  at  Washington, 
D.  C,  we  were  coeditors  of  the  college  paper.  Later  in 
Pittsburgh,  employed  in  newspaper  work,  we  again 
roomed  together.  The  intimacy  of  our  fellowship  was 
never  marred  by  a  single  act  or  word.  A  sweeter  and 
more  lovable  spirit  I  have  never  known  than  that  of  my 
long-time  friend,  Ira  Haynes  LaFetra." 

A  modest  man,  never  heralding  his  deeds  nor  seeking 
the  praise  of  men,  he  was  not  known  by  the  Methodist 
Church  as  many  other  of  its  missionaries  were  known; 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          241 

but  those  who  knew  him  and  his  great  work  in  forming 
the  Chile  Mission,  as  well  as  the  influence  of  his  per- 
sonality as  a  transforming  and  uplifting  power  in  both  the 
higher  and  lower  circles  of  life  in  Chile,  consider  him  one 
of  the  great  missionaries  of  the  cross  of  Christ. 


242    HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 


CHAPTER  XVI 

FOUR  QUADRENNIUMS  OF  PROGRESS  UNDER 
THE  BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 

BY  the  action  of  the  General  Committee  of  the  Mission- 
ary Society  at  the  meeting  held  at  Omaha  in  November, 
1903,  the  Chile  Mission  ceased  to  be  administered  on  the 
self-supporting  plan,  and  the  financial  responsibility  for 
the  support  of  the  mission  was  taken  by  the  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions,  just  as  in  other  mission  fields. 

The  immediate  results  of  this  change  of  administration 
were  not  for  a  few  years  such  as  had  been  hoped  for  by 
many,  both  in  the  matter  of  receiving  larger  grants  of 
money  and  of  larger  progress  being  made. 

One  reason  for  this  was  that  the  funds  at  the  disposal 
of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  made  it  necessary  for 
the  self-supporting  plan  of  missions  being  continued  as 
far  as  possible.  The  Board  had  received  the  mission  with 
the  stipulation  that  such  self-supporting  plan  should  be 
continued.  In  addition  to  this  the  printing  press  ceased 
to  gain  money  as  formerly,  and  the  schools  also  had  their 
income  reduced  because  of  the  severe  competition  of  im- 
proved government  free  schools  and  of  the  new  liceos 
established  by  the  government  in  different  cities,  which 
drew  away  the  patronage  of  many  of  the  liberals  who  had 
been  sending  their  children  to  our  schools.  However,  our 
schools  continued  to  sustain  themselves  except  the  one 
at  Iquique.  The  funds  from  the  Board  went  to  support 
the  pastors,  and  allowed  for  little  increase  in  their 
numbers. 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          243 

A  year  after  this  change  of  administration,  another 
change  was  brought  about  by  the  action  of  the  General 
Conference  in  1904  placing  a  resident  bishop  in  South 
America.  This  change  from  the  former  system  of  having 
different  bishops  visit  the  field  and  hold  the  Conferences, 
necessarily  made  a  period  of  readjustment  both  in  per- 
sonnel and  in  administration.  These  two  changes,  com- 
ing at  the  same  time  with  the  inevitable  readjustments, 
retarded  for  a  time  the  rate  of  progress.  But  that  rate 
of  progress  has  been  overtaken  and  passed,  and  during 
the  last  six  years  the  annual  increase  in  membership  has 
been  four  and  a  half  times  greater  than  during  the  previ- 
ous ten  years. 

Unfortunately,  the  mission  press  of  the  Chile  Mission 
has  not  been  able  to  overcome  the  losses  suffered  in  recent 
years,  and  in  July,  1916,  the  Publishing  House  was  closed 
and  the  old  machinery  and  type  were  sold. 

THE  MISSION   SCHOOLS 

The  Iquique  School.  The  depression  in  the  export  of 
nitrate  of  soda  and  in  the  general  business  led  to  smaller 
attendance  at  the  large  boarding  and  day  school  at  Iqui- 
que. For  several  years  the  school  had  been  run  at  a  loss. 
In  January,  1916,  the  Rev.  W.  O.  Pflaum  was  appointed 
in  charge.  Since  then  the  school  has  made  splendid  prog- 
ress. The  school  lot  is  large,  occupying  four  fifths  of  the 
square.  On  a  part  of  the  lot  there  has  been  erected  a 
good  school  building  for  the  use  of  the  Department  for 
Girls,  which  has  been  established.  The  present  attend- 
ance of  pupils  is  large,  all  that  can  be  accommodated. 

Santiago  College.  Our  school  for  girls  at  the  capital 
of  Chile,  the  center  of  wealth  and  influence,  which  has 
had  such  a  glorious  career  since  its  foundation  by  the 
LaFetras  in  1880,  has  of  late  been  making  further  prog- 


244   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

ress.  A  large  house  and  lot  adjoining  the  college  prop- 
erty was  purchased  in  November,  1917,  at  a  cost  of 
100,000  pesos  (over  $20,000).  The  influence  of  this  mag- 
nificent school,  situated  at  the  very  heart  of  the  national 
life,  goes  out  to  every  province. 

Conception  College.  This  school  for  girls,  situated  at 
the  natural  center  for  southern  Chile,  embracing  one  third 
of  the  population  of  the  republic,  has  made  large  prog- 
ress during  the  four  quadrenniums.  In  1905  a  lot  45  x  145 
feet  was  purchased  at  a  cost  of  15,000  pesos.  This  lot 
joined  the  school  property  on  the  rear  and  faced  on  the 
cross  street.  Directly  there  were  constructed  a  gymna- 
sium and  three  school  rooms  first  story,  and  twelve  dor- 
mitories second  story,  at  a  total  cost  of  $9,000.  The 
Board  granted  Mr.  Arms,  the  president,  permission  to 
buy  the  lot  and  build  if  he  could  finance  the  project. 
While  refusing  to  be  responsible  for  the  expenses,  the 
Board  made  a  grant  of  $500.  From  friends  in  the  States 
$2,000  was  secured  and  the  rest  on  the  field,  chiefly  from 
the  earnings  of  Concepcion  College.  Later  that  part  of 
the  old  house  which  faced  on  the  cross  street  was  taken 
down  and  a  solid  two-story  building  was  erected,  which 
provided  a  kindergarten  and  three  recitation  rooms  on 
first  floor,  and  seven  dormitories  on  the  second.  Over 
$600  came  from  a  legacy  of  the  old  William  Taylor 
Society,  and  Mrs.  Emily  Fowler  gave  $400  more. 

But  Concepcion  College  has  continued  to  grow,  and  in 
July,  1919,  a  corner  lot,  one  thousand  one  hundred  and 
ninety-eight  square  meters,  the  side  and  rear  of  which 
joins  the  school  property,  was  purchased  for  100,000  pesos 
(about  $22,000  at  the  then  exchange).  A  large  old  house 
occupies  this  lot,  but  it  will  be  taken  down  and  a  modern 
school  building  will  be  erected  in  the  near  future,  the 
Centenary  funds  making  this  possible.  The  old  house 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         245 

is  now  being  occupied  to  accommodate  the  increased  num- 
ber of  pupils. 

Colegio  Americano  (Concepcion).  This  school  was 
founded  by  William  Taylor  and  was  opened  by  members 
of  the  first  party  of  missionaries  arriving  on  the  west 
coast  of  South  America,  and  the  school  has  continued 
with  an  uninterrupted  existence.  The  first  property  pur- 
chased on  the  main  street  was  well  located,  but  later  the 
wholesale  section  of  the  city  extended  until  it  embraced 
the  school,  and  the  noise  of  the  traffic  made  teaching  diffi- 
cult. Besides,  the  lot  came  to  be  far  too  small  and  the 
buildings  also,  though  enlarged  as  much  as  they  well 
could  be.  Land  which  had  been  reserved  for  a  municipal 
park,  well  located  for  a  school,  was  divided  into  lots  and 
placed  upon  the  market.  At  the  auction  sale  made  by  the 
municipality  joining  lots  were  purchased  which  embraced 
three  quarters  of  the  square  facing  on  three  streets.  The 
location  was  excellent,  and  shortly  the  electric  cars  passed 
the  school.  School  buildings  were  erected  capable  of 
accommodating  two  hundred  boarding  and  two  hundred 
day  pupils.  The  Rev.  B.  O.  Campbell,  who  for  some 
years  had  been  in  charge  of  Colegio  Americano,  had  man- 
aged to  save  out  of  the  earnings  of  the  school  about 
$8,000.  Bishop  Neely  secured  in  the  States  a  gift  of 
$2,000,  and  the  old  school  property  sold  for  173,000 
pesos  (about  $45,000).  With  these  sums  the  lot  and 
buildings  were  paid  for.  The  school  is  strategically  sit- 
uated, Concepcion  being  the  political  and  educational 
center  for  the  southern  half  of  Chile,  and  it  stands  first 
in  importance  as  the  center  of  the  agricultural  and  min- 
ing interest  of  the  country.  It  is  also  the  chief  commer- 
cial center  for  that  region,  and  since  1893  Concepcion  has 
been  the  center  for  the  evangelistic  work  of  Methodism 
in  southern  Chile.  It  was  a  great  day  when  William 


246   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

Taylor  arranged  for  the  establishing  of  schools  for  boys 
and  for  girls  at  Concepcion. 

Colegio  Americano  de  La  Pas.  For  several  years  some 
of  the  principal  families  of  La  Paz,  Bolivia,  had  been 
sending  their  children  to  be  educated  in  the  American 
Methodist  school  for  girls  and  the  Presbyterian  school 
for  boys  at  Santiago,  Chile.  Convinced  of  the  superiority 
of  these  schools,  leading  Bolivians  desired  to  have  simi- 
lar ones  established  in  La  Paz;  and  the  Bolivian  govern- 
ment offered  to  give  a  yearly  grant  of  40,000  Bolivianos 
(equal  to  about  $16,000)  to  aid  such  a  school. 

Thinking  that  this  was  a  great  opportunity,  a  call  of 
God  to  enter  Bolivia,  the  members  of  the  Chile  Confer- 
ence favored  the  starting  of  school  and  evangelistic  work 
in  La  Paz,  and  at  the  Annual  Conference  of  1906  Bishop 
Neely  appointed  the  Rev.  F.  M.  Harrington  to  La  Paz. 
He  and  Mrs.  Harrington  were  able  to  found  there  an  ex- 
cellent high-grade  school  with  a  professorship  made  up 
chiefly  of  American  Christian  teachers. 

In  1912  a  similar  school  for  boys  was  established  in 
Chocabamba,  the  second  city  of  Bolivia,  and  the  next 
year  a  school  for  girls  also. 

The  most  important  people  of  Bolivia  have  sent  their 
sons  and  daughters  to  these  schools.  The  highest  officers 
of  the  government  have  attended  the  examinations. 

In  Bolivia  there  was  no  good  system  of  government 
schools.  To  aid  in  providing  school  privileges  the  gov- 
ernment had  been  giving  grants  to  the  best  schools  of  the 
monks.  But  convinced  of  the  great  superiority  of  the 
American  schools,  the  government  in  1914  withdrew  its 
aid  to  the  school  of  the  monks  and  gave  it  to  the  Meth- 
odist school. 

After  three  years  of  strenuous  labor,  fighting  a  losing 
battle  against  tuberculosis,  F.  M.  Harrington  fell  at  his 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          247 

post.  But  first  he  had  laid  in  Bolivia  the  foundations  of 
Methodism  in  church  and  in  schools. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  McBride,  who  had  had  some  years  of 
experience  in  the  mission  schools  of  Santiago,  were 
appointed  in  charge  of  the  La  Paz  school,  and  the  Rev. 
G.  J.  Schilling,  experienced  in  missionary  work,  was 
appointed  in  charge  of  the  church  work.  Frequent 
changes  have  taken  place  in  the  missionary  forces  in 
Bolivia,  but  the  Board  has  kept  the  field  well  supplied. 
The  schools  have  gone  on  so  well  that  when  the  govern- 
ment, becoming  financially  embarrassed  during  the  war, 
ceased  to  give  the  subvention,  the  schools  went  right  on. 
But  the  aid  from  the  Board  was  somewhat  increased. 

The  good  climate,  the  richness  of  the  mines,  the  exten- 
sive and  valuable  forest  and  grazing  lands,  the  discovery 
of  vast  deposits  of  petroleum  make  sure  a  great  future 
for  Bolivia,  and  Methodism  is  called  to  aid  in  building 
there  a  great  Christian  republic. 

Parochial  Schools.  The  establishing  of  schools  in  con- 
nection with  our  churches  has  been  recommended  by  the 
Conference  and  the  presiding  bishop.  It  is  necessary  for 
the  following  reasons:  The  children  of  our  members 
cannot  go  to  the  schools  of  the  monks  and  nuns.  In  the 
public  schools  some  of  the  teachers  are  Roman  Catholics, 
who  try  almost  as  much  as  the  nuns  to  lead  our  children 
into  Catholicism,  and  when  the  children  do  not  comply 
they  are  badly  treated.  But,  alas !  the  majority  of  the 
teachers  have  no  use  for  religion,  ridicule  the  Bible  and 
the  Christian  doctrines,  and  create  such  a  spirit  in  the 
schools  that  many  of  the  children  of  our  members  are 
lost  to  us.  Unfortunately,  we  have  been  able  to  do  but 
little  in  establishing  schools  in  connection  with  our 
churches  as  we  have  lacked  competent  teachers,  lacked 
the  money  to  pay  teacher?  and  rents,  Now  through  the 


248   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

Centenary  we  are  expecting  to  establish  a  good  normal 
school  which  will  furnish  the  teachers  needed.  And 
jointly  with  the  Presbyterians  a  lot  has  been  purchased 
in  Valparaiso. 

A  parochial  school  was  started  in  Antofagasta  in  1904 
by  Pastor  Olave  and  Mrs.  Kate  Russell  Olave.  The 
members  of  our  church  there  contributed  generously  to 
equip  it  with  necessary  furniture  and  aided  in  its  sup- 
port. The  following  year  C.  R.  Snell  and  wife  were 
transferred  from  Iquique  and  placed  in  charge.  The 
school  went  on  well  for  five  years,  then  Mr.  Snell  was 
transferred  to  take  charge  of  Colegio  Americano,  at  Con- 
cepcion.  No  good  teacher  could  be  secured  for  the  Anto- 
fagasta school;  and  it  soon  decreased  to  such  an  extent 
that  it  was  closed.  Antofagasta  has  increased  in  popu- 
lation very  rapidly.  It  has  come  to  be  a  very  important 
city,  the  principal  port  of  the  province,  and  one  of  the 
three  ports  of  Bolivia.  The  closing  of  the  school  is 
greatly  to  be  regretted. 

Churches  and  Chapels.  The  following  have  been  se- 
cured in  Chile  during  the  four  quadrenniums :  A  lot 
22l/2  x  62^2  meters,  situated  on  Avenida  Portales,  was 
purchased  in  Santiago  in  1904.  It  cost  28,000  pesos,  and 
was  so  remodeled  and  enlarged  as  to  serve  for  a  chapel 
and  parsonage  for  the  First  Methodist  Church.  During 
the  past  few  years  it  has  served  also  for  the  classes  of 
the  theological  seminary. 

In  1905  a  lot  with  a  large  house  which  has  served  for 
chapel  and  parsonage  was  bought  in  Victoria  by  the  Rev. 
B.  O.  Campbell,  at  a  cost  of  $1,090  (United  States 
money). 

Several  of  the  members  of  First  Church,  Santiago, 
purchased  lots  in  a  new  section  of  the  city  called  Pobla- 
cion  Montel.  They  desired  to  have  services  there.  One 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          249 

of  them,  Brother  Ruz,  gave  a  lot,  and  Santiago  College 
added  an  adjoining  lot,  giving  a  front  of  over  50  feet. 
An  attractive  chapel  was  built.  Dr.  Phillips,  an  Ameri- 
can dentist  resident  for  years  in  Santiago,  often  made 
contributions  to  our  work.  After  his  death  out  of  his 
estate  his  sister  gave  most  of  the  money  for  the  building 
of  the  chapel. 

A  lot  was  purchased  in  Punta  Arenas  in  1905  and  a 
chapel  was  built  seating  250,  at  a  total  cost  of  7,70x3 
pesos,  one  half  of  which  was  by  a  gift  of  $1,000  from 
Bishop  McCabe.  The  balance  was  met  on  the  field. 

Other  properties  at  Punta  Arenas:  A  parsonage  was 
built  in  1907.  The  Board  paid  one  third  of  the  cost; 
the  rest  was  raised  locally  in  two  years.  A  church  called 
Capilla  Rojas  and  a  parsonage  were  built  in  another 
section  of  Punta  Arenas  in  1909  at  a  cost  of  12,000  pesos 
— all  raised  locally.  At  the  town  of  Tres  Puentes,  not 
far  from  Punta  Arenas,  a  church  called  Capilla  Bell,  in 
honor  of  the  principal  giver,  and  a  parsonage,  were 
built  at  the  cost  of  18,000  pesos  and  the  money  to  pay 
the  whole  cost  was  raised  in  the  years  1913-1918. 

Apart  from  the  one  third  cost  of  one  parsonage  these 
properties  were  all  secured  at  no  cost  to  the  Board 
through  the  efforts  of  the  Rev.  J.  L.  Reeder,  missionary 
in  charge  for  twelve  years  of  that  southernmost  mission- 
ary field  of  Methodism.  In  addition  to  the  above  half 
as  much  more  was  raised  and  spent  on  a  building  for 
school  and  church  which  as  yet  is  unfinished. 

Gorbea.  As  the  Chilean  government  extended  the 
Central  Railroad  line  south  through  the  old  Araucanian 
lands  at  Patagonia,  now  organized  into  the  provinces  of 
Mellcco,  Cautin,  Valdivia,  and  Lanquihue,  it  left  part  of 
the  land  to  the  Indians,  put  some  on  sale  in  large  lots  for 
big  farms,  and  divided  the  rest  into  small  lots  of  one  hun- 


250   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

dred  acres  or  more.  It  allowed  persons  of  small  means 
to  take  lots  at  a  very  moderate  price  on  long-time  pay- 
ments. Taking  advantage  of  this  opportunity,  several 
Methodist  families  from  different  towns  took  up  lands 
in  the  section  near  the  new  town  of  Gorbea,  which  the 
government  had  laid  out  in  the  northern  part  of  the  prov- 
ince of  Valdivia.  Services  were  started,  the  neighbors 
uniting  in  some  farm  house.  Soon  a  corner  lot  was  pur- 
chased in  Gorbea  with  an  unfinished  house  which  was 
used  for  a  chapel,  and  there  were  two  small  rooms  be- 
sides. The  total  cost  was  800  pesos. 

Loncoche.  On  the  railroad  twenty  miles  to  the  south 
of  Gorbea,  in  a  dense  forest  region,  the  government  laid 
out  the  town  of  Loncoche.  Lots  were  given  to  settlers 
on  condition  that  a  small  house  be  built.  Several  Meth- 
odist families  from  Punta  Arenas  took  up  lots  in  this  new 
and  rapidly  growing  town,  and  the  following  year  a  cor- 
ner lot  facing  the  public  square  was  bought  for  800  pesos. 
There  was  a  small  house  on  the  lot,  and  the  next  year  a 
chapel  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $3,100  pesos  (about  $750). 

The  year  1907  was  a  fruitful  one  in  securing  church 
properties.  A  small  lot  was  secured  in  Pisagua  for  500 
pesos,  and  the  year  after  a  chapel  was  built. 

Well  in  the  interior  from  Antofagasta,  on  the  old  high- 
way of  the  Incas  from  Bolivia  to  the  coast,  the  highway 
by  which  the  Spaniards  on  the  backs  of  mules,  the  humble 
donkey,  and  the  conquered  and  enslaved  Indian,  trans- 
ported the  shiploads  of  silver  from  the  incomparable 
mines  of  Potosi,  is  found  the  city  of  Calama.  Through 
irrigation  from  a  small  stream  the  desert  there  blossoms 
as  a  rose.  The  Chilean  government  changed  the  mule 
path  to  a  railroad.  Members  of  our  vigorous  church  at 
Antofagasta,  employees  of  the  railroad,  often  went  to 
Calama.  A  few  families  removed  there.  Presto!  a 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA          251 

church  was  organized  and  a  lot  and  house  costing  3,000 
pesos  was  purchased. 

A  lot  was  purchased  at  Mulchen,  and  a  chapel  seating 
one  hundred  and  twenty  and  a  parsonage  was  built  at 
Yungai  on  a  lot  which  was  given.  The  building  cost  over 
5,000  pesos. 

But  the  great  purchase  for  that  year  was  the  new  lot 
for  Colegio  Americano  at  Concepcion,  already  described. 

In  1908  a  small  lot  was  purchased  in  Ovalle  for  2,000 
pesos.  The  poor  old  house  was  repaired  and  enlarged  to 
serve  for  chapel  and  parsonage,  and  has  since  been  used, 
though  very  unworthy  for  such  service.  That  same  year 
the  church  at  Valparaiso,  15.40x28  meters,  capable  of 
seating  1,000  persons,  was  built,  and  above  the  church  a 
parsonage.  The  total  cost  was  95,000  pesos. 

The  first  Methodist  services  celebrated  at  Collipulli 
were  in  the  house  of  Caspar  Rioseco,  one  of  the  wealthi- 
est men  of  the  city,  who  kindly  offered  a  large  room  in  his 
house  for  the  purpose.  Later  a  room  was  rented,  but  it 
was  very  small  and  in  a  very  bad  condition.  Then  a 
much  better  place  was  rented  of  an  Italian  who  had  a 
general  provision  store.  But  soon  he  asked  for  the  key 
of  the  room  under  some  excuse,  and  when  it  was  in  his 
possession  he  refused  to  return  it,  saying  that  to  his  regret 
he  was  obliged  to  require  the  room  to  be  vacated,  as  the 
priests  had  notified  him  that  they  would  have  his  store 
boycotted  if  he  did  not  turn  the  "heretics"  out.  Fortu- 
nately, in  a  few  days  a  lot,  25  x  50  meters,  with  a  house 
covering  the  whole  twenty-five  meters  front,  was  offered 
for  sale.  The  owner  had  died,  and  his  heirs  living  else- 
where had  offered  the  property  at  a  very  low  price  for 
cash.  The  cash  condition  detained  buyers.  Hearing  of 
it,  G.  F.  Arms  bought  the  place  and  refitted  it  for  a  chapel 
and  parsonage.  Not  long  after  he  was  offered  twice  what 


252    HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

the  property  cost.    As  the  mission  wanted  it,  he  would  not 
sell,  but  passed  to  it  the  property  at  cost  price. 

Here  is  a  little  story  connected  with  Carahue:  The 
writer,  then  superintendent  of  the  Southern  District, 
accompanied  by  the  pastor  at  Temuco  and  Nueva  Impe- 
rial, made  the  first  visit  of  Protestant  pastors  to  Carahue, 
fifteen  miles  distant.  There  was  no  railroad  in  those 
days;  only  a  horse  and  saddlebags  made  the  trip  one  of 
true  circuit-rider  style.  On  our  first  visit  there  was  no 
Methodist  home  to  invite  us.  We  went  to  the  hotel. 
Listening  to  conversations,  we  learned  that  the  parish 
priest  was  not  respected,  and  that  there  seemed  to  be  no 
ill  feeling  toward  Protestants.  We  visited  the  chief  of 
police  and  found  him  to  be  a  member  of  our  church,  who 
had  removed  there  from  Angol.  He  told  us  that  a  few 
nights  before,  during  a  heavy  rain,  he  was  going  along  a 
street  with  a  lantern  when  he  discovered  the  priest  lying 
in  the  street  at  the  side  of  the  walk  dead  drunk.  He 
aroused  him,  telling  him  to  get  up,  he  must  go  to  the  jail. 
"Oh,"  said  the  priest,  "do  not  take  me  to  the  jail.  I  am  the 
priest."  The  prefect  of  police  took  the  priest  to  his  house, 
but  told  him  if  caught  again  he  would  not  let  him  off. 
The  people  came  well  to  our  services.  Soon  after  a 
young  man  who  was  converted,  Zenobio  Matus,  married 
a  school-teacher  of  Swiss  parentage.  He  started  a  small 
general  supply  store.  There  were  two  things  in  which 
his  store  was  different  from  all  others :  he  did  not  sell  on 
Sunday  and  he  sold  no  intoxicants.  The  people  said  that 
he  could  not  do  business,  and  soon  would  be  bankrupt. 
Instead  at  the  end  of  the  year  his  capital  had  doubled. 
His  business  went  on  better  and  better,  and  he  now  has 
in  addition  a  good  business  in  another  town.  He  has 
passed  the  course  of  study  and  is  an  ordained  deacon, 
having  charge  of  the  services  where  he  now  lives.  He  is 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         253 

a  tither.  In  Carahue  he  gave  a  lot  and  helped  to  build  a 
neat  chapel.  The  Board  aided  by  continuing  to  pay  for 
three  years  what  it  had  been  paying  as  rent.  In  Puerto 
Saavedra  where  he  now  lives  he  has  built  a  chapel. 

In  1911  the  members  of  the  Antofagasta  church 
bought  a  lot  516  meters  square  in  another  section  of  the 
city.  The  same  year  a  small  chapel  was  built  in  the  sec- 
tion of  Santiago  called  Poblacion  Esmeralda,  and  in 
Temuco,  in  a  section  especially  occupied  by  the  laboring 
class,  a  lot  was  secured  on  which  a  chapel  was  built,  the 
total  cost  2,699  pesos. 

After  the  great  earthquake  destroyed  most  of  the  busi- 
ness part  of  Valparaiso  the  handling  of  exports  and  im- 
ports became  difficult,  and  some  of  the  business  was  trans- 
ferred to  Talcahuano.  For  lack  of  accommodations  rents 
increased  enormously.  The  hall  which  we  had  occupied 
for  our  services  had  to  be  given  up.  It  seemed  impossible 
to  secure  another  suitable  place.  Just  then  a  man  seri- 
ously sick  was  obliged  to  sell  his  house  for  cash.  Secur- 
ing no  cash  purchaser,  he  dropped  the  price  thirty  per 
cent.  The  house  was  in  the  residence  section  and  cen- 
trally located.  Mr.  Arms  borrowed  the  money  and 
bought  and  refitted  it  for  a  chapel  and  a  small  parsonage. 
The  total  cost  was  12,000  pesos.  The  bishop  and  the 
Finance  Committee  desiring  to  take  the  property  for 
the  mission,  the  titles  were  passed  over. 

A  further  purchase  for  1911  was  a  lot  25  x  33  meters 
on  a  good  street  in  the  center  of  the  city  of  Conception, 
at  a  cost  of  20,000  pesos,  cash.  Eleven  thousand  pesos 
had  been  secured  during  previous  years,  the  Board  fur- 
nishing about  one  fifth  of  the  amount.  Fourteen  thou- 
sand pesos  were  soon  raised  in  Chile,  and  from  the  Board 
and  friends  in  the  States  $7,000  more  were  added;  and 
a  beautiful  church  was  built,  with  a  fine  Ep worth  League 


254   HISTORY  OF  THE  WILLIAM  TAYLOR 

room  at  the  side.  The  cost,  including  lot,  was  55,000 
pesos  (about  $13,000).  When  completed  there  was  a 
debt  of  25,000  pesos,  most  of  which  has  been  paid. 

At  Nueva  Imperial  that  part  of  the  house  which  was 
used  as  a  chapel  was  taken  down  in  1914  and  a  commo- 
dious and  beautiful  church  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $1,500. 
The  sister  of  Dr.  Phillips,  who  gave  so  much  toward  the 
Phillips  Memorial  Chapel  at  Santiago,  gave  $500  to  the 
Nueva  Imperial  church. 

A  large  lot  called  the  Quinta  was  purchased  in  Santi- 
ago for  56,790  pesos  in  the  year  1918.  The  house  was 
enlarged  and  is  now  used  for  the  home  of  the  president 
of  the  theological  seminary.  The  lot  may  be  used  later 
for  a  hospital. 

But  the  record  year  in  the  accession  of  property  for 
the  mission  was  1919.  Besides  the  corner  lot  purchased 
for  100,000  pesos  for  Concepcion  College,  already  re- 
ported, there  was  purchased  the  Bunster  farm.  It  con- 
tains three  thousand  seven  hundred  acres.  A  part  is  a 
highly  developed  fruit  farm,  another  section  is  given  to 
vegetable  raising  to  supply  the  city  market.  Then  there 
is  a  large  nursery  with  a  splendid  variety  of  fruit  trees, 
also  trees  for  adorning  and  for  timber  producing.  Other 
sections  are  given  to  wheat-producing  and  cattle-raising. 
Much  of  the  land  is  irrigated,  and  the  soil  is  of  the  best. 
It  cost  $276,000.  Agricultural  and  industrial  schools 
are  to  be  developed  and  great  things  are  expected  in  con- 
nection with  this  farm  in  the  evangelizing  of  Chile. 
Bishop  Oldham  was  able  to  secure  a  very  able  executive, 
Dr.  U.  G.  Leazenby,  who  is  at  the  head  of  this  great 
enterprise. 

One  purchase  is  recorded  for  the  year  1920,  and  that 
is  a  lot  containing  six  hundred  and  twenty-five  square 
meters,  with  a  house  for  our  church  in  the  city  of  Los 


MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA         255 

Andes,  at  a  cost  of  12,580  pesos.  And  also  jointly  with 
the  Presbyterians  a  lot  was  purchased  in  Valparaiso  for 
establishing  a  normal  training  school  for  teachers  and 
deaconess  nurses. 

The  above  record  shows  a  magnificent  increase  in  the 
properties  of  the  mission  during  the  four  quadrenniums 
under  the  Board. 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  CHURCH  WORK 

In  1904,  the  beginning  of  the  period,  one  Annual  Con- 
ference embraced  all  the  Methodist  work  on  the  west 
coast  of  South  America,  including  Bolivia  and  Panama. 
Now  there  are  the  Chile  Annual  Conference  embracing 
Chile,  the  North  Andes  Mission  Conference,  which 
includes  Peru  and  Ecuador,  the  Bolivia  Mission  Confer- 
ence, embracing  the  republic  of  Bolivia,  formed  in  1917, 
and  the  Panama  Mission,  which  has  extended  to  take  in 
Costa  Rica. 

During  the  four  quadrenniums  14  married  missionaries, 
9  single  men,  and  46  single  women  have  been  sent  out 
besides  the  contract  teachers.  Two  married  missionaries 
have  been  transferred  to  this  field  from  Argentina  and 
one  from  the  Philippines.  Six  missionaries  and  18  men 
converted  on  the  field  have  been  received  on  trial  in  the 
Chile  Conference. 

During  the  four  quadrenniums  the  full  membership 
has  increased  55  per  cent,  the  probationers  87  per  cent, 
and  the  Sunday  Schools  27  per  cent.  The  amount  raised 
for  pastoral  support,  including  that  raised  for  Conference 
claimants,  has  increased  250  per  cent. 

THE    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY    AND   THE    DISPENSARY 

An  important  advance  was  the  establishing  in  1914  of 
a  theological  seminary  jointly  with  the  Presbyterian  Mis- 


256  TAYLOR  MISSIONS  IN  SOUTH  AMERICA 

sion.  The  first  year  there  were  six  Methodist  students, 
one  Presbyterian  and  one  Christian  and  Missionary  Alli- 
ance. The  Alliance  has  not  continued  to  cooperate,  but 
the  Presbyterians  are  sustaining  well  their  part  in  every 
way,  and  to-day  have  the  larger  number  of  students. 

In  1919  there  was  established  in  Santiago  a  dispen- 
sary, called  "El  Buen  Samaritano."  The  Rev.  G.  J. 
Schilling  gave  most  efficient  aid  in  starting  and  adminis- 
tering this  new  and  greatly  needed  department  of  mis- 
sionary work.  The  general  public,  Chileans  and  resident 
foreigners  became  interested  and  contributed  generously. 
Friends  in  the  States  have  aided  and  all  expenses  have 
been  met. 

THE  CENTENARY 

The  Church  in  Chile,  under  the  leadership  of  Dr. 
George  A.  Miller,  has  entered  grandly  into  the  spirit  of 
the  Centenary,  in  intercession,  in  tithing,  and  in  personal 
work.  Obstacles  which  hindered  years  ago  have  all  dis- 
appeared, and  the  outlook  is  bright  for  a  glorious  advance 
in  the  evangelizing  of  Chile. 


INDEX 


Abandoned  stations,  story  of,  1 13 
Albright,  Rev.  Wilbur  F.,   121, 

147;  property  purchased   by, 

179 

Alfonzo,  Senor,  88 

Allan,  Rev.  Adrian,  121 

American  and  Foreign  Christian 
Union,  40 

Amunategui,  Senor,  good  work 
of,  30 

Angol  Circuit,  156,  157 

Antofagasta,  chief  port  of  Bo- 
livia, 26;  work  at  abandoned, 
51;  church  started  at,  179 

Argentina,  three  classes  in,  17 

Arica,  25 

Arms,  G.  F.,  conspicuous  service 
of,  7;  how  history  of  mission 
stations  was  written  by,  9; 
compliment  to,  69;  superin- 
tendent of  Southern  District, 
128;  takes  charge  of  Concep- 
cion  College,  130;  quoted,  163; 
placed  in  charge  of  school  at 
Concepcion,  176;  long  serv- 
ice of,  210 

Arms,  Mrs.  G.  F.,  tribute  to, 
69;  sketch  of,  124;  illness  of, 
125;  efficient  help  rendered 
by,  128;  exceptionally  quali- 
fied for  management  of  a  girls' 
school,  132;  operation  under- 
gone by,  133;  religious  work 
of,  134;  long  service  of,  210 

Australia,  missionary  campaigns 
of  William  Taylor  in,  1 1 

Baldwin,  Alice,  116 

Baptists,  German,  lands  given 
to,  83 

Barbosa,  Mr.,  147 

Bard,  Miss  Emma,  105,  119;  re- 
ferred to,  159 


Baxter,  Rev.  Mr.,  100;  return  of 
to  United  States,  107;  sub- 
sequent labors  of,  196 

Bayley,  Edward  A.,  39 

Benedict,  George  B.,  120,  129 

Benge,  Rev.  James  and  wife,  1 1 1 

Benson,  Miss  Cora  B.,  33,  37; 
courageous  work  of,  53 

Bethel,  work  among  seamen, 
29;  referred  to,  113 

Beutelspacher,  Karl,  143,  147, 
168,  169 

Birdsall,  Rev.  Charles  W.  and 
wife,  44;  death  of  Mr.  Bird- 
sall, 55, 112 

Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  pro- 
gress of  Chili  Mission  under, 
242 

Bolivia,  168 

Boyce,  Miss  Martha  M.,  77; 
good  work  of  in  girls'  school, 

IOO 

Bray,  Francis,  137 
Bray,  Miss  Mary,  121 
Buenos  Ayres,   Annual  Confer- 
ence held  at,  202 
Bunster,  Mr.  Henry,  30 
Burch,  Miss  Adda  G.,  134 

Calama,  work  at,  147 
Caldera,    27;     work    at    aban- 
doned, 112 

Callao,  22;  church  at,  23 
Campbell,  Rev.  Buel  O.,  128 
Canut  de  Bon,   Rev.  Juan  B., 
139,  142,  148,   149,  150,  151, 
156;  death  of,  164 
Carpenter,  Miss  Jeannette,  134 
Carvajal,  Arturo,  quoted,  69 
Catholicism,     unparalleled     op- 
portunity of,  15 
Cebollar,  work  at,  147 
Changes,  81 


257 


258 


INDEX 


Charnaral,  27 

Chile,  first  Protestant  church 
built  in,  40;  first  regular  Span- 
ish preaching  services  in,  140 

Chile  Mission,  first  property 
bought  for,  86;  legal  incor- 
poration of,  91;  relation  of  to 
Missionary  Society,  199;  trans- 
fer of  to  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions,  213;  centenary  of, 
256 

Cholera,  visit  of  to  west  coast, 
1 10,  193 

Church  of  England  clergymen, 

23 

Churches  remaining,  114,  115 

Cincinnati  Conference  of  1890, 
action  of,  194 

Colegio  Americano,  63;  well  pa- 
tronized, 99;  building  erected 
for,  1 06;  facts  concerning,  123, 
124;  placed  in  charge  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Arms,  125;  improve- 
ments at,  127;  placed  in  charge 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Campbell, 
128;  increasing  prosperity  of, 
131;  additions  made  to  prop- 
erty, 178 

Coleman,  Mr.  George,  130,  141 

Collier,  Miss  Edith,  44;  death 
of,  78 

Collier,  Rev.  J.  W.,  33,  38; 
quoted,  47;  goes  to  Coquimbo, 
52;  marriage  of,  58;  takes 
charge  of  church  at  Coquimbo, 
82 

Colon  and  Panama,  22 

Compton,  Rev.  Harry  and  Mrs. 
Compton,  83;  Mrs.  Compton 
ill  with  smallpox,  103;  trans- 
ferred to  Coquimbo,  104,  121 

Concepcion,  29,  30;  workers  ap- 
pointed to,  41;  English-speak- 
ing community  at,  123;  build- 
ings erected  at,  176 

Concepcion  College,  129;  home 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arms  for 
twenty-three  years,  132;  a 
great  school  for  girls,  133 

Conference  of  great  importance, 
137 


Conference  of  1880,  the,  57 

Conference  of  1895,  172 

Copiapo,  27;  no  liberty  of  wor- 
ship at,  28;  first  convert  at, 
28;  work  at  interfered  with  by 
Roman  Catholics,  28;  de- 
scribed, 43;  English  Church 
work  at,  77 ;  difficult  situation 
at,  109;  work  at  abandoned, 

112 

Coquimbo,  29;  a  hard  field,  87; 
property  bought  at,  106;  ad- 
ditions made  to  property  at, 
in;  additions  to  property  at, 
175 

Corbin,  Miss  Josephine,  86;  re- 
turn of  to  United  States,  no 
Cruz,  Mariana  de  la,  146 
Cuppett,  Rev.  P.  B.,  148,  198 
Currier,  Edwin  P.,  127,  153 
Curtis,  Mabel,  116 

Day,  Miss  Emily,  115,  130 
Decade,  first,  in 
Diaz,  Jose"  M.,  154,  156 
Drees,  Dr.  C.  W.,  202,  203 

Eaton,  Homer,  223,  224 

Ebert,  Mr.  Carl,  102 

El  Cristiano,  publication  of  be- 
gun, 164 

Elkins,  Miss  Mary  E.,  77;  re- 
ferred to,  82 

Emigrants  to  South  America 
from  Protestant  countries,  13 

Events  of  1888,  no 

Farwell,  George  H.,  116 
Fawcett,  Miss  Edith,  105 
Financial  report  for  South  Amer- 
ica, 107 
Fisher,  Miss  Alice  H.,  132,  133, 

FitzGerald,  Bishop  J.  N.,  given 
charge  in  South  America,  199 

Flood,  John,  gift  of,  162 

Foreign  and  Evangelical  So- 
ciety, 40 

Foreigners,  Protestant,  direct 
evangelistic  work  among  not 
easy,  51 


INDEX 


259 


Fowler,  Anderson,  work  of,  95; 

gift  of,  131;  document  signed 

by,  216;  tribute  to,  237 
Fowler,  Bishop,  216 
Fowler,    Mrs.    Emily,    gift    of, 

244 
Freestone,     Miss    Fannie,    115, 

116 

"Frontera,"  the,  180 
Fuller,  Miss  Mary,  104,  115 

General  Conference  of  1888,  193; 
of  1900,  enabling  act  passed 
by,  206 

Gilliland,  James  P.  and  Mrs., 
46;  work  of  at  Callao,  62;  Mr. 
Gilliland  quoted,  77;  go  to 
Caldera,  82 ;  school  started  by, 
105,  120;  death  of  Mrs.  Gilli- 
land, 143 

Girls'  school  at  Concepcion,  63 

Goucher,  J.  F.,  220 

Grant,  Miss  Emma,  104;  illness 
of,  125 

Grant,  Richard,  117 

Grierson,  J.,  39 

Griewe,  Rev.  W.  F.,  coming  of 
to  Chile,  102;  referred  to,  116; 
work  of,  n8f. 

Guayaquil,  abandoned,  112 

Hammond,  Miss  Rebecca,  83; 
referred  to,  105 

Harrington,  F.,  149,  170 

Harris,  Bishop,  visit  of,  79 

Herman,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  128 

Higgins,  Rev.  J.  W.,  33;  commit- 
tee appointed  to  receive,  39; 
quoted,  39;  leaves  for  United 
States,  82;  later  work  and 
death  of,  174 

Hodgkinson,   Mr.,  43 

Hoffman,  Rev.  Charles  H.,  and 
wife,  45;  labnr  of  among  Ger- 
mans, 56;  removed  to  Val- 
paraiso, 81. 

Holding,  Miss  Rachel,  115,  174 

Homegoin^s,  81 

Hoover,  Rev.  W.  C.,  and  wife, 
120;  return  of  Mr.  Hoover  to 


United  States,  144;  again  on 
missionary  field,  145;  visit  of 
to  Punto  Arenas,  146 

Horn,  Rev.  J.  C.,  102;  complaint 
made  by,  105 

Howard,  Rev.  George  P.,  quoted, 
12,  13- 

Huanillos,  26 

Humphrey,  Rev.  Fletcher  and 
wife,  53;  heroic  work  of  dur- 
ing war,  59;  return  of  to  Uni- 
ted States,  79 

Hurlbert,  Mr.,  125 

Incorporation,  need  of,  88 
Inquisition,  Spanish,  16 
Iquique,  work  at  abandoned,  52; 

later  activities  at,  177 
Irigoyen,  Mr.,  146 
Irrazzibal,  Sefior  A.,  162 

James,  Carlos  R.,  retirement  of, 
172 

Jeffrey,  George  M.,  77 

Jeffrey,  Rev.  Alexander  J.,  and 
wife,  43;  quoted,  43;  abandon 
work  at  Antofagasta,  51;  de- 
parture of  for  United  States, 
82 

Jenkins,  Mr.  William,  28 

Jenkins,  O.  W.,  39 

John,  R.,  39,  142,  148 

Johnson,  Hannah,  116 

Joyce,  Bishop  Isaac  W.,  206 

Jurisdiction,  ecclesiastical,  ques- 
tion of,  190 

Keister,  Rev.  and   Mrs.  B.  B., 

129 

Kerr,  Mr.,  referred  to,  28 
Kinsman,  Miss  Rosina,  125,  137, 

1 60 

Kipp,  Miss  Lizzie,  60 
Knoll,   Miss  Mary,    105;  death 

of,  in 

Knowlcs,  Miss,  124 
Krauser,  Rev.  O.  B.,  100 

LaFetra,  Dr.  George,  171 


260 


INDEX 


LaFetra,  Ira  H.,  term  as  super- 
intendent of  mission,  9;  estab- 
lished school  at  Santiago,  31; 
report  made  by,  33;  quoted, 
40;  sailor  work  at  Valparaiso 
described  by,  48;  new  field 
sought  by,  52;  work  of  at 
Santiago,  61;  aid  secured  by, 
62;  book  prepared  by,  67; 
strong  indorsement  of  Santi- 
ago College  secured  by,  76; 
marriage  of,  79;  action  of 
friends  of,  81;  the  only  one 
remaining  after  ten  years' 
service,  in;  tribute  paid  by 
to  teachers,  116;  Santiago  Col- 
lege under  administration  of, 
122;  report  of  as  publishing 
agent,  172;  not  autocratic  as 
an  executive,  192 

LaFetra,  Mr.  T.  Wolcott,  work 
of,  82;  editor  of  Spanish  liter- 
ature, 139 

LaFetra,  Mrs.  Adelaide  White- 
field,  122 

Langbridge,  Mr.  and  Mrs.,  work 
of  at  Charnaral,  27 

Latham,  Rev.  E.  L.,  55 

Lawrence,  Mr.  William,  29;  made 
chairman  of  committee,  30 

Leach,  Miss,  114 

Lee,  Miss,  marriage  of,  no;  re- 
ferred to,  116 

Lemon,  Millard  F.,  77;  placed 
in  charge  of  Santiago  College 
for  young  men,  79;  referred 
to,  84 

Lewis,  Juan,  170 

Liceo,  the,  87,  88 

Lima,  work  at,  62 

Limache,  167 

Lobos  Islands,  26,  46 

Longley,  Miss  Sarah,  33,  41 ; 
marriage  of,  49 

Lota,  school  begun  at,  52;  work 
closed,  77 

Lowrey,  Dr.  Asbury,  visit  of  to 
mission,  107;  report  made  by, 
109;  quoted,  126,  176;  visit  of 
to  missions  on  west  coast,  192 

Lythe,  Rev.  John,  27 


MacDermot,  Isabel,  137 

McCabe,  Bishop,  gift  of,  145; 
action  of,  168;  Conference  pre- 
sided over  by,  206 

McLean,  Rev.  J.  H.,  tribute  of 
to  Mrs.  Arms,  136 

Marti,  P.  F.,  149 

Martin,  Miss  Elena,  129 

Materialism  in  South  America,  18 

Mathewson,  Lillian,  137 

Mejillones,  46 

Membership  statistics,  145 

Merwin,  Rev.  A.  M.,  140 

Methodist  Mission,  141 

Methodist  Publishing  House, 
165,  171,  172;  embarrassed 
with  debts,  207;  income  from, 
222 

Milks,    Miss    Marian   A.,    130, 

131,  133,  155 
Millie,  T.  J.  W.,  39 
Minutes,  Conference,  163 
Mission,  progress  in,  83;  develop- 
ment of  the  from  four  centers, 
118 

Mission  Conference,  70 
Mission  stations,   establishment 

of,  33 

Missionaries,  correspondence 
with  preserved,  9;  first  party 
of  sent  to  South  America  by 
William  Taylor,  33;  second 
party  sent  out,  43;  third 
party  sent  out,  44;  distribu- 
tion of,  47;  conference  of 
called,  50;  salaries  of  the, 

.J37 

Missionary  administration,  con- 
clusion regarding,  85,  189 

Missionary  forces,  summary  of, 
H4ff. 

Mollendo,  workshops  at,  23; 
school-teacher  and  minister 
needed  at,  24;  an  important 
port,  44;  work  at  abandoned, 

112 

Moneda  chapel,  attendance  at, 

165 

Moseley,  Mr.,  44 
Mount  Allison  Seminary  visited 

by  Mr.  Taylor,  60 


INDEX 


261 


Neely,  Bishop,  205,  246 
Negroes,  pleas  of,  22 
Neissmann,  Miss  Elena,  129 
New  era,  a,  124 
Newhouse,  Charles,  44;  goes  to 

Tacna,  45;  referred  to,  84 
Newman,  Bishop,  referred  to,  198 
Ninde,  Bishop,  206 
Nueva   Imperial,    work    started 

at,  1 60 

Ogden,  Miss  Nettie,  82;  success- 
ful work  of  in  girls'  school,  100 
Olave,  Roberto,  148,  156 
Orchard,  Mr.  James,  28 
Organization,  need  of,  49 
Osborn,  Hon.  Thomas  A.,  30 

Pabellon  de  Pica,  26 

Pacific  Steam  Navigation  Com- 
pany, repair  shops  of,  22 

Peiia,  Dr.  Carlos  Fernandez,  68; 
referred  to,  85 

Pflaum,  Rev.  W.  O.,  243 

Pierson,  Ecedora,  137 

Pinto,  President  Anibal,  30 

Pope's  Nuncio,  ordering  Protes- 
tant church  closed,  23 

Ports,  Rev.  C.  W.,  165;  made 
agent  of  Publishing  House,  173 

Powell,  Rev.  R.  D.,  137,  139,  160 

Presbyterian  Church,  mission- 
aries of,  140 

Price,  Rev.  J.  G.,  62 

Printing  Press,  117 

Property,  purchase  of  first,  86; 
in;  further  purchases  of,  175 

"Prospecto,"  38 

Quick,  Rev.  Mr.,  52 
Quillota,  167 

Quito,  Normal  Teacher's  Train- 
ing School  at,  134 

Record,  The,  article  in,  48;  re- 
port of  missionary  conference 
in,  50 

Reece,  John,  28 

Reeder,  John  L.,  206;  funds 
raised  by,  249 

Reenforcements,  101,  111 


Richard,  Miss  Dorothy  M.,  134, 

15.5 

Robinson,  Rev.  W.  T.,  and  wife, 
86;  transferred  to  Concepcion, 
104;  departure  of  from  Con- 
cepcion, 124 

Rojas,  Tiburcio,  work  of,  146 

Roman  Catholic  Church,  ques- 
tion as  to  work  of,  13;  indif- 
ference of  members  of,  14; 
inadequacy  of  as  an  evangel- 
izing force,  15;  serious  indict- 
ment against,  16 

Romanism,  religious  intolerance 
of,  1 6 

Romero,  Indalecio,  147,  148,  149, 
158;  transferred  to  Antofa- 
gasta,  159;  work  of  at  Nueva 
Imperial,  160 

Ross,  Rev.  Ira,  return  of  to  Uni- 
ted States,  no;  ret  urn  of  pre- 
vented, 125 

Rosser,  Mr.,  28 

Russell,  Miss  Kate,  129 

Ruz,  Juan,  147 

Sanborn,  Miss  Mary  E.,  85 

Santa  Barbara,  157 

Santiago,  30;  opening  of  college 

at,   74;   property   secured  at, 

1 06;    Union    church    at,    113; 

a  great  center,  164;  conference 

held  at,  191 
Sayre,  Mr.,  28,  140 
Schools,  strong  desire  for  better, 

32;  founding  of,  60;  summary 

of,  1 15;  where  established,  120- 

123. 

Schultz,  Miss  Eva,  125 
Scott,    Clifford    S.,    104;    stand 

taken  by,  109 
Seaman's  Association  of  Boston, 

83 

Sears,  Miss,  death  of,  1 10 
Self-support,  the  plan,  226;  minor 

disadvantages  of,  233 
Serena,  persecutions  at,  122,  148; 

difficulties  met  at,  179 
Seventh-Day  Adventists,  156 
Shinn,  II .  B.,  148 
Signorclli,  Cayetano,  153,  166 


262 


INDEX 


Smith,  Mrs.  Lucius,  death  of,  50 
Smith,  Rev.  Lucius,  43;  school 
opened  by,  44;  life  of  endan- 
gered by  mobs,  102 
Smith,  Rev.  Magnus  and  wife, 
44;  quoted,  45;  death  of  Mr. 
Smith,  54 

Snell,  C.  R.,  and  wife,  248 
South  America,  the  call  to,  11; 
vast  territorial  extent  of,  12; 
misapprehension  relative  to, 
12;  unreached  millions  in,  13; 
savage  Indians  in,  13;  results 
of  dominance  of  Romanism  in, 
17;  small  but  important  ele- 
ment in,  18;  a  neglected  field, 

19 

South  America  Conference,  or- 
ganization of,  195. 

Spangler,  Rev.  J.  M.,  and  wife, 
84;  work  of,  100;  return  of  to 
United  States,  104 

Spanish,  evangelistic  work  in, 
144;  services  in,  162 

Special  Mission  Conference  for 
Chile,  a,  197 

Speer,  Robert  E.,  quoted,  18 

Spinks,  Miss  Esther  L.,  84 

Standen,  William,  work  of,  160 

Starr,  Miss  Cora  M.,  129 

Stout,  Miss  Mary,  130 

Stowell,  Mrs.  A.  P.,  33;  taken 
home  to  die,  57 

Stowell,  Rev.  A.  P.  and  Mrs., 
33,  37;  illness  of,  53;  death  of 
Mrs.  Stowell,  53;  letter  by 
Mr.  Stowell,  54;  return  to 
South  America  of  Mr.  Stowell, 

58 
Stuntz,  Bishop  H.   C.,    quoted, 

16,  17 
Sunday  school  work  in  Spanish, 

150 
Swaney,    Rev.   J.   A.,   work   of, 

23 

Tacna,  25;  abandoned,  112 
Talcahuano,  30 
Tallon,  Dr.  William,  203 
Taylor,  S.  Earl,  visit  of  inspec- 
tion made  by,  9 


Taylor  Self-Supporting  Missions 
received  into  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  93;  statis- 
tics of,  209 

Taylor  West  Coast  Mission, 
ecclesiastical  administration  of 
abnormal,  193 

Taylor,  William,  evangelistic 
tours  of,  7;  call  of  to  South 
America,  1 1 ;  conditions  faced 
by,  19;  beginnings  of  work  of, 
21 ;  reception  of  at  Mollendo, 
24;  quoted,  25,  26,  27;  his 
return  to  New  York,  31; 
recognized  as  central  author- 
ity, 49;  defective  organization 
of  his  work,  55;  great  teacher 
found  by,  60;  extract  from 
letter  written  by,  80;  efforts  of 
to  secure  missionaries,  81; 
quoted,  85;  activities  of,  86; 
quoted,  87,  88fL;  elected  to 
General  Conference,  92;  me- 
morial presented  by,  92;  visit 
of  to  missions,  107;  first  visit 
of  to  west  coast,  174;  elected 
Bishop  of  Africa,  174;  con- 
troversy of  with  Missionary 
Committee,  189;  memorial  of 
to  General  Conference,  191; 
separation  of  from  work  in 
South  America,  192 

Teachers,  personal  hardships  and 
sufferings  of,  64 

Temuco,  158;  property  secured 
at,  1 80 

"Ten  Years'  War,"  the,  16 

"The  Chile  Mission,"  pamphlet, 
quotation  from,  196 

Tocopilla,  26 

Tomkin,  Richard,  first  con- 
vert at  Copiapo,  28 

Torregrosa,  Rev.  Jose",  165,  167 

Transit  and  Building  Fund  So- 
ciety, 92;  organization  of,  93; 
form  of  incorporation  of,  94; 
funds  provided  by,  117;  print- 
ing material  sent  out  by,  171; 
mission  property  acquired  by, 
174;  money  advanced  by,  178; 
organization  of,  192 


INDEX 


263 


Treweek,  A.,  39 

Tributes  to  workers,  237 

Trumbull,  Dr.  David,  29;  re- 
ferred to,  40 

Trumbull,  Mrs.,  school  started 
by,  41 

Uren,  Thomas  S.,  27;  quoted,  28 

Valenzuela,  J.  Samuel,  152,  153, 

154,  156 

Victoria  Circuit,  160 

Valparaiso,  evangelical  work  in, 
18;  visited  by  Mr.  Taylor,  29; 
an  important  port,  40;  work 
at  given  up,  143;  a  great  cen- 
ter, 164;  facts  concerning,  165 

Vasbinder,  Mrs.  Marietta,  46 

Venegas,  C.,  152 

Vidaurre,  Rev.  Alberto  J.,  143, 
144 

Vimont,  Miss  Lottie,  136 

Vincent,  Bishop,  quoted,  155 

Vincent,  J.  M.,  82,  116 

Von  Barchwitz-K  r  a  u  s  e  r,  45; 
work  of  among  Germans,  56; 
appointed  to  Bethel  work,  58; 
referred  to,  81,  83,  101,  no 

Wakeman,  Miss  Sabra,  105 
Walden,  Bishop,   episcopal  tour 

of,  194 

Wallace,  Miss,  104 
Walters,  Alpnzo,  142 
Warren,    Bishop,    quoted,    135; 

church     dedicated    by,     179; 

visit  of  to  Temuco,    180;  in 

charge  of  South  America,  204, 

205 


Waterhouse,  Miss  Lelia,  33;  ex- 
tract from  letter  written  by, 
34;  her  voyage  described,  35; 
quoted,  41 ;  sacrifices  made  by, 
63;  quoted,  65,  66,  67;  cited, 
68;  tribute  to,  85 

Watson,  Rev.  A.  S.,  129;  made 
principal  of  Concepcion  Col- 
lege, 134 

Webster,  Mrs.  Sarah,  125 

Wertenberger,  C.  H.,  165;  made 
agent  of  Publishing  House, 

173 

Wesleyan  Church,  property 
passed  over  to,  55 

Wheelwright,  William,  impor- 
tant services  rendered  by,  22; 
railroad  built  by,  44 

Whitefield,  Miss  Adelaide,  sail- 
ing of,  60;  work  of,  74;  mar- 
riage of,  79 

William  Taylor  Mission,  se- 
verely criticized,  68 

Williams,  Miss  Rose  M.,  105; 
return  of  to  United  States,  no 

Wilson,  Captain  W.  S.,  30 

Wilson,  Mr.  E.  E.,  149,  157,  166 

Wilson,  Mrs.  E.  E.,  136 

Winans,  Charles  S.,  120 

Wood,  Dr.,  report  made  by,  168; 
danger  foreseen  by,  233 

Woods,  Miss  Winnifred,  134 

Workers,  evangelical,  difficulties 
met  by,  17 

Wright,  Rev.  W.  A.,  33 ;  appointed 
to  Concepcion,  41 ;  return  of  to 
United  States,  59;  again  at 
work,  77 

Yafiez,  Sefior  Pedro,  150 


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